Disease fears mount after cyclone Aila

By Nita Bhalla

NEW DELHI (Reuters AlertNet) - Hundreds of thousands of people are stranded with no food, water and shelter four days after cyclone Aila washed away roads and submerged villages in Bangladesh and India, aid agencies said.

The cyclone hit parts of coastal Bangladesh and eastern India on Monday, triggering tidal surges and floods and destroying hundreds of thousands of homes.

At least 275 people have died, and officials say the death toll could mount due to epidemics in the cyclone's aftermath.

As aid workers and authorities scramble to distribute relief to people in West Bengal and Bangladesh's coastal belt, fears are growing for thousands of marooned families who are in more remote and inaccessible locations.

In West Bengal at least 5.1 million people were displaced, with more than one million people stranded in the Sundarban islands alone, most of them without any food or water, officials said. At least 100 people have died in the eastern state.

"The tidal surges and floods triggered by Aila have washed away roads, damaged bridges and submerged fields," said John Gomes, communications officer for World Vision in Bangladesh. "Some areas are just totally inaccessible as they are underwater and there are simply not enough boats to get relief out to these people who are sleeping out in the open with no shelter."

The Indian air force has begun air-dropping supplies in the remote Sundarban Islands in the Bay of Bengal. Witnesses said people scampered to grab the packets of pre-cooked food, water and medicines.