Bangladesh cyclone relief operation in full gear

A week after a killer cyclone killed nearly 3,500 people on the Bangladesh coast, relief workers said they had been able to get food, medicine and other provisions to almost all those affected. A huge relief operation by civil authorities and the army, navy and airforce was at full force after roads blocked by fallen trees has been cleared and electricity and communication lines restored, said an official in Barisal.

The head of Bangladesh's army-backed interim government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, appealed on television last night for all Bangladeshis to join the relief effort.

Cyclone Sidr struck a vast areas of southern Bangladesh last Thursday night with winds of 250 kph (155 mph) and a 5-metre high sea surge, leaving a trail of devastation. It was the worst disaster in the impoverished country of 140 million since 1991, when a cyclone and storm surge killed around 143,000 people.

Army chief General Moeen U. Ahmed said troops were coordinating relief operations to ensure no further deaths in the cyclone's aftermath.