Cyclone death toll 'could reach 10,000'

Helicopters airlifted food to hungry survivors today while rescuers struggled to reach remote areas devastated by Bangladesh’s worst cyclone in a decade, amid fears the death toll could hit 10,000.

Army helicopters carried mostly high-protein biscuits supplied by the World Food Programme, said Emamul Haque, a spokesman for the WFP office in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, which is co-ordinating international aid efforts.

Aid organisations promised initial packages of €17m during a meeting with Bangladesh agencies, Mr Haque said.

The official death toll from Tropical Cyclone Sidr reached 2,306 yesterday, according to the Disaster Management Ministry.

But television stations said it had already passed 3,000 and there were fears it could be much higher.

The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross, warned the toll could hit 10,000 once rescuers reached outlying islands.

The society’s chairman, Mohammad Abdur Rob, said the estimate came from the assessments of thousands of volunteers involved in rescue operations across the battered region.

Hungry survivors scrambled for food yesterday as rescue workers cleared fallen trees and twisted roofs from roads to reach remote villages.

Teams from international aid groups worked with troops in a massive rescue effort that attracted help from around the world, but relief items like tents, rice and water were slow to reach many.

The government defended the relief efforts and expressed confidence that authorities were up to the task.

“We have enough food and water,” said Shahidul Islam, the top official in Bagerhat, a battered district near the town of Barguna. “We are going to overcome the problem.”

Disaster management secretary Aiyub Bhuiyan met representatives from the United Nations and international aid groups yesterday to discuss the emergency response.

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that several million was available from the UN’s emergency response funds, depending on the need.

The government said it had allocated €3.5m in emergency aid for rebuilding houses. Many foreign governments and international groups have pledged to help.

The US offered €1.4m and the United Nations promised €5m.

An American military medical team was already in Bangladesh and two US Navy ships, each carrying at least 20 helicopters, among tons of other supplies, would be made available if the Bangladesh government requested them, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.