Military ships and helicopters joined in rescue and relief operations Saturday for survivors of a cyclone that savaged coastal Bangladesh, killing a reported 1,100 people in the deadliest such storm in more than a decade. Rescuers — some even employing the brute force of elephants — contended with roads that were washed out or blocked by wind-blown debris to try to get water and food to the needy. Officials said hundreds of thousands of people were affected by flooding from Tropical Cyclone Sidr. The damage to livelihood, housing and crops from Sidr will be "extremely severe," said John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, adding that the world body was making millions of dollars in aid available to Bangladesh. The cyclone's winds — reaching 150 mph as it roared ashore Thursday night — wreaked havoc on the country's electricity and telephone lines and knocked out power to millions. --MORE
