DHAKA - A severe cyclone has killed more than 580 people in Bangladesh and left thousands injured or missing, triggering an international relief effort on Friday to help the disaster-prone country cope with its latest emergency. Local officials and Red Hundreds more were injured or missing after Cyclone Sidr struck overnight packing winds of 250 kph (155 mph). The Category 4 cyclone triggered a 15-foot (5-metre) high tidal surge that devastated three coastal towns and forced 3.2 million people to evacuate, officials and aid agencies said.
“The death count is rising fast as we get more information from the affected districts,” a food and disaster ministry official said. He put the official death toll at 250.
The death toll might rise sharply when search operations end in a half dozen tiny offshore islands inhabited by thousands of fishermen, and coastal areas where telecommunications were cut. “It will take several days to complete the search and know the actual casualty figure and extent of damage to property,” said disaster ministry official Ayub Miah.