At least 600 people are reported to have died after a powerful cyclone smashed into Bangladesh’s coast, levelling villages and uprooting trees.Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated or sought safe shelter before the storm hit the coast from the Bay of Bengal, but some were left behind.
The true extent of the devastation remains unclear as the storm has blocked access to the affected areas.
The storm weakened on Friday as it passed through the capital, Dhaka.
As it was downgraded to a tropical storm, attention turned to assessing the devastation and distributing aid.
Crops destroyed
The damage from Cyclone Sidr, which has now moved well inland north-east of Dhaka, was worst on Bangladesh’s southern coastal strip.
The government’s disaster agency estimated the confirmed number of dead at 606 on Friday.
Tens of thousands of homes are thought to have been damaged and the recent crop harvest has also probably been destroyed.
