BARISHAL A baby who was named Cyclone after he was born in the midst of a natural disaster that swept Bangladesh is cuddled by his grandmother in front of her damaged home at Barishal, 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Dhaka, the capital.

Winds hit the coast at up to 155mph on Thursday night, with huge waves flattening homes and forcing the evacuation of 650,000 villagers before the cyclone lost power and swept north to Dhaka. At least 1,100 people were feared dead, and tens of thousands were left homeless. Reports were yet to come in from the two worst-hit districts, southern Barguna and Jhalokati. Most deaths were caused by trees crushing flimsy huts made from bamboo and tin.

In Madaripur district, between the southwest coast and Dhaka, a reporter saw one devastated village after another. Mollik Tariqur Rahman, a businessman in the area, said that 80 per cent of the homes in his village had been flattened.

“It was like Doomsday, the most frightening five hours of my life,” he said.

The Navy has dispatched five ships with food, medicine and other relief materials. The European Commission was releasing €1.5 million (£1 million) in emergency relief. (AFP)

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