Bangladesh cyclone death toll could hit 15,000*

By Peter Foster, South Asia correspondent
Last Updated: 9:41am GMT 19/11/2007

Up to 15,000 people could have been  killed and seven million lives left
devastated by the cyclone in Bangladesh last week, aid agencies have
said as the full extent of the disaster became clear.

The Bangladeshi Red Crescent Society, the country's main humanitarian
group, said that more than 3,000 bodies had already been recovered from
villages shattered by Cyclone Sidr's 150mph winds.

While the official death toll remains low, Save the Children last night
said that it feared that 15,000 people could have died while the Red
Crescent estimated around 10,000.

Residents in Bangladesh cope with the devastation caused by Cyclone Sidr
In the worst affected districts, 90 pc of homes and 95 pc of rice crops
and valuable prawn farms were obliterated by the winds

An international relief effort, supported by donations from the UN,
Britain, US and Europe, was slowly grinding into gear yesterday as the
International Red Cross estimated 900,000 families had been affected.

Previous cyclones killed 500,000 people in 1970 and 143,000 in 1991 -
however local officials said the impact would now fall on the many
survivors.

In the worst affected districts, 90 per cent of homes and 95 per cent of
rice crops and valuable prawn farms were obliterated by the winds, which
generated a 20ft tidal surge that swept everything from its path.

Fallen trees and flooded roads are also seriously impeding the relief
crews' efforts to reach stricken coastal villages, with elephants being
used in some areas to clear the heaviest debris.

Officials described the humanitarian situation in coastal districts like
Barguna, 130 miles south of the capital Dhaka, as the "worst in
decades", a grave assertion in a country that is used to dealing with
annual floods and storms.

Tapan Chowdhury, a government adviser for food and disaster management,
described the cyclone as a "national calamity" and urged all to come
forward to help the victims.

Relief operators on the ground said supplies were still inadequate and
that the government should make an immediate plea for more international
aid to avert a "human disaster".

"I have never seen such a catastrophe in my 20 years as a government
administrator," said Harisprasad Pal, an official from Barguna District,
"Village after village has been shattered. Millions of people are living
out in the open and relief is reaching less than one percent of the people."

When reached, victims are being found dehydrated and in a state of shock.

A Bangladeshi woman mourns the death of one of her relatives
Officials described the humanitarian situation in coastal districts as
the 'worst in decades'

"I lost six of my family members in the cyclone. I am afraid that the
rest of us will die of hunger," said Sattar Gazi, a 55-year-old farmer
in the village of Nishanbari.

"For the corpses we don't have clothes to wrap them in for burial. We
are wrapping the bodies in leaves."

Britain announced immediate aid of £2.5 million, while the United States
ordered two warships from the Bay of Bengal to assist with rescue and
relief efforts, air-lifting supplies to areas cut off by flooding.

Lord Malloch Brown, the Foreign Office minister, said: "We have offered
our immediate support to relief efforts through the UN and stand ready
to provide more assistance when required."

The Pope appealed for immediate international aid for those stricken by
the disaster in Bangladesh.

"In renewing my deep condolences to the families and the entire nation,
which is very dear to me, I appeal to international solidarity," he said.