Aid 'reaching cyclone survivors'

Aid is getting through, but more is needed

Aid agencies say they are now reaching all the victims of last week's cyclone which struck southern Bangladesh.

Money and aid are now pouring into the coastal region destroyed by the storm, but survivors' needs are still huge.

Many complain they need food, clean water and shelter. At least 3,100 people are confirmed dead so far.

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been pledged to help to rebuild the destroyed area. Leading UK charities have launched an appeal for more aid.

Logistical challenge

Estimates of the number of Bangladeshis caught up in the crisis vary wildly, from the hundreds of thousands to the millions.

We are fulfilling their immediate needs to keep them alive [but] they need more food Emamul Haque, World Food Programme Forest post destroyed Aid shortfall Q&A: Cyclone relief In pictures: Cyclone homeless

The BBC's Mark Dummett in southern Bangladesh says no one yet has a clear idea and the logistical challenge of reaching all the victims of the cyclone remains enormous.

In the village of Chandpai, survivors told the BBC they need food and do not yet have clean drinking water.

They also complain that cases of diarrhoea are increasing.

But our correspondent says community leaders are also responding.

In one town the BBC visited businessmen were providing three meals a day to more than 1,000 homeless people.

In some places people are receiving only just enough to keep them from dying, officials say.

"We are fulfilling their immediate needs to keep them alive [but] they need more food," said Emamul Haque of the World Food Programme.

Bangladesh's government and military are leading the relief effort and they say they have received aid pledges of up to $500m.

They have also now agreed to accept the help of two US naval vessels operating in the Bay of Bengal.

Saudi Arabia pledged $100m in aid earlier this week.

In the UK, the Disaster Emergency Committee of 13 major aid agencies launched a new appeal on Thursday to help those without food or water.

Crops destroyed

Cyclone Sidr, which struck late last Thursday, packed winds of up to 240km/h (150mph) and a tidal surge of several metres.

Satellite map of affected area, and the path of Cyclone Sidr Enlarge Map

It brought down power lines and wiped out vital crops.

Coastal Bangladesh is a maze of waterways, creeks, islands and sandbanks and the only way to reach the area is by boat. The government's early-warning system is being credited with saving many lives.

Officials say that in many areas 95% of rice has been destroyed, while shrimp farms and other crops were simply washed away.

Southern Bangladesh is hit every year by cyclones and floods, but Cyclone Sidr is the most destructive storm to hit the country in more than a decade.

Another storm in 1991 left some 143,000 dead. More than 500,000 people were killed by a cyclone in 1970.