By Xinhua
Dhaka : The death toll in Cyclone Sidr that ripped through Bangladesh’s southern and southwestern coastal region Thursday night has now crossed 3,113, an Armed Forced Division report said Tuesday.
However, the Flood and Disaster Management Ministry of Bangladesh has put the death toll at 2,817 by 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. According to Golam Kibria of the ministry, around 2,062 are still missing and 6,611 have been injured in the killer cyclone.
Kibria said as the army rescue operation has reached more isolated areas and received more information, their death figure is higher.
The armed forces have reached 90 percent of the affected areas with rescue and relief materials by Monday, and helicopters covered most of the remote places.
So far, the armed forces have reached all the affected sub-districts and 70 percent of the affected villages.
“It is still difficult to say how long it will take to complete the whole rescue work, maybe 10 or 15 days more,” Kibria said.
However, the unofficial figure has crossed 3,500 and may rise further, according to reports by local media.
The terrible cyclone hit 28 out of the country’s 64 districts, affecting more than four million people or 900,000 families, leaving nearly 300,000 homeless.
Some 300,000 houses were ruined totally, while more than 600,000 houses were badly damaged. Besides, crops on 366,000 hectares were damaged either completely or partially.
The Bangladesh government Monday made a request to the international community to assist the cyclone victims and post-cyclone rehabilitation.
So far, donor countries and agencies have pledged emergency aid of $140 million.