The cyclone, which hit two weeks ago, killed 18 people across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Burma. Majority Sinhalese nationalists said the king’s name should not have been used in such a negative context. The name Mahasen was one of a pool of names compiled by eight Indian Ocean nations a decade ago. Meteorology department director-general SH Kariyawasam said that he was sorry "if any insult was caused to King Mahasen or the country’s proud history".