Up to 15,000 people were killed and seven million lives left devastated by the cyclone in Bangladesh last week, aid agencies have said as the full extent of the disaster became clear.

	In the worst affected districts, 90 pc of homes and 95 pc of rice crops and valuable prawn farms were obliterated by the winds

The Bangladeshi Red Crescent Society, the country's main humanitarian group, said that more than 3,000 bodies had already been recovered from villages shattered by Cyclone Sidr's 150mph wind s.

While the official death toll remains low, Save the Children last night said that it feared that 15,000 people could have died while the Red Crescent estimated around 10,000.

An international relief effort, supported by donations from the UN, Britain, US and Europe, was slowly grinding into gear yesterday as the International Red Cross estimated 900,000 families had been affected.

Previous cyclones killed 500,000 people in 1970 and 143,000 in 1991 - however local officials said the impact would now fall on the many survivors.

 Source : Telegraph UK