Tornadoes die more than 600 Bangladeshi people

News that the number of cyclone deaths in Bangladesh's southern coast has reached more than 600 people. The powerful tornado has flattened the villages and dumped trees.

Officials warned that the number of people killed could increase and the scale of the damage is still unknown. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated or sought shelter before the storm hit the coast. However, some people still can't go.

The storm weakened early in the morning on Friday, when it moved through the capital, Dhaka.

The BBC's Mark Dummet from Dhaka reports when the most devastating devastation of the storm is thought to have passed, now attention is shifting to the assessment of damage and distribution of relief supplies.

The World Food Program is rushing to transfer relief rations to 400,000 people. Government, Red Crescent Society and other non-governmental organizations are also sending people to rescue.

Image of Typhoon Sidr was taken through NASA satellite when the storm approached Bangladesh and India coast.(Photo AFP)

Interruption of communication

However, the BBC's correspondent says the main airport in Dhaka has been suspended, river ferries are not working, roads are blocked due to falling trees and the electricity network has been severely disrupted.

Sidro has caused the most serious damage to the southern coastal strip of Bangladesh. The Ministry of Home Affairs in Dhaka said many districts still lose contact due to telecommunications networks, phones being cut off; Reports of casualties are still showing different numbers.

According to Reuters news agency , Bangladeshi television said more than 100 fishing boats in the Bay of Bengal had not been able to return even after receiving a storm warning. Red Crescent officials say there are at least three villages flattened by storms.

A storm shelter of Khulna people, south of Dhaka. (Photo AFP)

Residents of the capital Dhaka told BBC news that during the night, buildings and roofs were shaken by high winds, and by the morning electricity and water were cut.

The tornado originated in the Bay of Bengal at dusk on Thursday night, causing winds of up to 240kmh and heavy rain. During the night, storms poured through Dhaka, knocking down trees and cutting off the electricity network. The cyclone is expected to affect eastern India and the west coast of Burma.

Reuters news agency said tornadoes caused waves to rise as high as 5m in many affected districts. The rivers that flow into the Bay of Bengal also rise, the water is immense.

Southern Bangladesh is often attacked by tornadoes, but experts say the latest cyclone is a strong storm of the fourth group, the most severe disaster since the beginning of the storm so far.

Hurricane Sidr ravaged the places where it passed.
This baby - survived the hurricane - was named Storm. (Photo: AP)

Many roadside trees are knocked down, obstructing traffic. (Photo: Reuters)

Thanh Hao