Two people were killed on Monday in Bangladesh after a cyclone hit the country's southern coast, a police officer said.

Bhola police chief Azizur Rahman told AFP that dozens of houses had been destroyed when cyclone Reshmi made landfall before dawn.

"A woman and a child died when their mud house collapsed on them. We do not know of any other casualties or injuries," he said.

Authorities issued a warning late Sunday evening and thousands of people in vulnerable areas gathered at cyclone shelters, Rahman said.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department director Arjumand Habib said the worst of the storm had passed.

The cyclone comes almost a year after cyclone Sidr caused massive devastation in southern Bangladesh, leaving more than 3,000 people dead.