DHAKA, Oct 16 (Reuters) - A powerful storm swept through southern Bangladesh killing at least 18 people in mudslides and house collapses and injuring 100, officials said on Tuesday.

A woman and her two children were among those killed in a mudslide at Betbunia in the southeast.

At least 20 fishing boats sank in the Bay of Bengal and at least 50 of their crew were still missing, fishing community leaders said.

They quoted survivors saying that many of the missing could have drowned. No other details were available.

Weather officials said nearly 225 mm (9 inches) of rain fell overnight in Chittagong port city, severing road links with the Chittagong Hill Tracts further to the southeast.

The storm originating in the Bay of Bengal made landfall around Monday midnight, a weather official said, adding more rains were forecast across the country over the next couple of days.

Streets in Chittagong were under knee-deep water, forcing authorities to shut down offices and schools, a resident said by telephone from the city.

Normal life was also disrupted at Cox's Bazar, the country's main tourist resort, following the rainstorm.

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