(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-18 20:35

Aid organizations said they feared food shortages and contaminated water could lead to widespread problems if people remain stranded.

Storms batter impoverished, low-lying Bangladesh every year, often killing large numbers of people. This time a government early warning program saved a vast number of lives, UN Resident Coordinator Renata Dessallien said in a statement.

However, property damage was massive. Many evacuees who returned home Saturday found their bamboo-and-straw huts flattened.

"We survived, but what we need now is help to rebuild our homes," said Chand Miah of the small island of Maran Char.

An estimated 2.7 million people were affected and 773,000 houses were damaged, according to the Ministry of Disaster Management. Roughly 250,000 cattle and poultry perished, and crops were destroyed along huge swaths of land.

The government said it has allocated $5.2 million in emergency aid for rebuilding houses.

The United Nations released $7 million, the US government provided $2.1 million, and Germany offered $731,000. The European Union released $2.2 million, and British officials said they would give $5 million.

The Rome-based World Food Program was rushing in food, and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society was sending thousands of workers to stricken areas.

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