Millions of people in India and Bangladesh remained marooned without food or water on Friday, four days after cyclone Aila hit them, and authorities said disease was becoming a serious problem, Reuters reported. The cyclone killed at least 275 people, but officials say the toll could mount due to epidemics in the aftermath. Cyclone Aila hit parts of coastal Bangladesh and eastern India on Monday, triggering tidal surges and floods and destroying hundreds of thousands of homes. It caused extensive damage to rice and other crops but officials say they were still assessing the losses. In the Indian state of West Bengal, at least 5.1 million people were displaced, with more than one million people stranded in Sundarban islands alone, most of them without any food or water, officials said. The death toll from cyclone Aila in Bangladesh touched 175 after 15 bodies were found on Thursday, mostly in southwestern Satkhira district, local officials and aid workers said on Friday. The cyclone also killed a large number of cattle, adding to the woes of farmers still trying to get back on their feet after cyclone Sidr in November 2007 killed 3,500 people in coastal districts.
