The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
48°F
Current Conditions
Broken clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Cyclone toll rises as aid trickles in

Moriom Bibi, right, mourns after finding the body of her mother, unseen, in a paddy field Sunday in Borguna, Bangladesh, as thousands of cyclone survivors awaited relief aid. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Parveen Ahmed Associated Press
Moriom Bibi, right, mourns after finding the body of her mother, unseen, in a paddy field Sunday in Borguna, Bangladesh, as thousands of cyclone survivors awaited relief aid. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

BARGUNA, Bangladesh – The death toll from Bangladesh’s most devastating storm in a decade climbed to at least 2,300 on Sunday and relief officials warned the figure could jump sharply as rescuers reach more isolated areas.

Teams from international aid organizations worked with army troops in a massive rescue effort that drew help from around the world. Rescue workers cleared roads of fallen trees and twisted roofs to reach remote villages, but tents, rice, water and other relief items were slow to arrive. Hungry survivors, thousands of whom were left homeless, scrambled for food.

The death toll rose as officials made contact with coastal regions cut off by the storm, said Selina Shahid of the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management.

District officials compile the figures, which are far from precise, based on reports from police, public hospitals, military officials, relief workers and aid agencies, said Mohammad Golam Mostafa of the Disaster Management Ministry.

The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross, said that it believed the toll could hit 10,000 once rescuers reach islands off the coast of the low-lying river delta nation.

Squatting in a muddy field with his wife, 45-year-old farmer Asad Ali said their 5-year-old daughter, the couple’s only child, had been fatally crushed beneath their toppled thatched hut in Barguna, one of the hardest-hit districts.

He said a helicopter had dropped packages of food but he had received little assistance. Mobs swarm below the helicopters every time one is spotted.

“I’ve been here waiting for hours for something to eat,” he said. “What I’ve got so far are a few cookies. Not enough.”

The government said it has allocated $5.2 million in emergency aid for rebuilding houses. Many foreign governments and international groups have pledged to help, including the United States, which offered $2.1 million, and the United Nations, which promised $7 million.

A U.S. military medical team is already in Bangladesh, and two Navy ships will be made available if the Bangladesh government requests them, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.