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2388 dead in Bangladesh
South Asia News
Cyclone death toll mounts to 2388 in Bangladesh (2nd Roundup)
Nov 17, 2007, 17:27 GMT
Dhaka - A grim picture emerged Saturday as a massive search and rescue operation revealed decaying bodies in southern Bangladesh tossed by a devastating cyclone that officials said left at least 2,388 people dead and hundreds missing.
More than 5,000 people were injured in the worst-affected coastal belt, rescuers said. Many devastated areas were cut off to rescuers by uprooted trees, broken culverts and fallen power poles.
About three million people spread over 15 stricken districts had become homeless as their mud and straw houses collapsed in the wild winds, according to local charities.
As thousands of soldiers and civilian volunteers went into action in the pummelled region, rescuers counted another 400 bodies of people killed in Friday's cyclone which also triggered mudslides and flash floods.
Most deaths occurred in the Patuakhali-Barisal zone and on offshore islands where nearly 550 people, including children, were found dead, said a spokesperson of the national flood warning and control centre.
Authorities were still having trouble late saturday restoring power after the national grid suffered heavily.
Tens of thousands of flooded dwellings were washed away by the tidal surges while receding from isolated marooned hamlets.
Cyclone Sidr, of hurricane strength, unleashed its full fury on the coastal belt the home of over 42,000 fishermen and their families.
The storm also struck Dhaka and its suburbs, killing 11 people and injuring 500 as trees were plucked by the raging winds which reached speeds touching 250 kilometres an hour.
The national meteorological centre warned of further heavy rains across the country in the coming days.
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