A cyclone- affected elderly man waiting for relief aid at Gazi Mahmud village in Barguna district on the coastal area of southern Bangladesh, yesterday. (AFP)

DHAKA • Bangladesh's interim finance minister said yesterday that the economic impact of Cyclone Sidr was "huge" but it was too early to estimate the extent of the damage to the country's ailing economy.

"The economic loss of the cyclone is colossal. We are still counting," Mirza Azizul Islam said.

"Millions of people have been badly affected. No doubt its impact will be huge on the economy. But it may take some weeks before we know the magnitude of the damage and how it would affect the overall economic growth," he added.

The cyclone follows floods in July and August. A state of emergency declared in January and the interim government's subsequent corruption crackdown have already left business confidence badly dented.

Bangladesh's $69bn economy was projected to grow at seven per cent in the year ending June 2008. But even before the cyclone, the floods had forced the central bank to lower its growth forecast to 6.5 per cent.

The economy expanded at a record 6.6 per cent last year. The Bangladesh think-tank, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), gave an initial damage estimate of more than $1.5bn.

"We have done the estimate on the figures given by the government's disaster management ministry. The losses are still piling up as more reports are coming," said executive director Mustafizur Rahman.

"We think growth will slow down to somewhere between five and six per cent as a result of the floods and the cyclone," Rahman said.

The human impact has been equally devastating. The government said the November 15 cyclone left more than 3,400 people dead and 1,700 missing, with 6.7m people affected.

At least 360,000 homes were completely destroyed and a further 800,000 partly damaged, said squadron leader Jahan of the armed forces control room, who only uses one name. About 1.6m hectares (4m acres) of crops had also been lost and 460,000 livestock killed, while over 650km of roads had been wiped out. More than 1,300 schools and colleges and 1,600 small bridges and waste water pipes were also destroyed, he added.

In addition, about 10,000 shrimp farms have been razed in the cyclone, which would cause a sharp drop in exports to Europe and America, said Abul Bashar, executive director of Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters' Association. "Shrimp (farms) and infrastructure worth more than 100 million dollars have been washed away," he said.

Bangladesh exported frozen fish worth $512m in the last fiscal year ending June 2007. It is the country's second biggest export sector and directly employs half a million people.

"It will take months before the people in the coastal region can restart their lives. We will have to keep feeding them for at least a month," said navy commander Bashir Ahmed, who is supervising relief operations in the worst affected Barguna district. Bangladesh has launched a four-month food provision programme under which at least 2.5m families would receive 15kg of rice every month.

Bangladesh prepared yesterday for a major US-assisted airlift of relief supplies to survivors without adequate aid nine days after a devastating cyclone. A total of 92 helipads have been built in the worst-hit coastal villages and helicopters from US warships are assisting Bangladeshi aircraft, said Bangladesh's army chief, General Moeen U Ahmed.

Moeen said the US navy ships would conduct relief operations in coordination with the Bangladesh government. Relief officials said two US warships would start full-fledged operations from today. "If we can utilise the huge capabilities of the US ships, we can successfully conduct a useful relief operation for the survivors," Moeen said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's army chief called for coordination in relief operations yesterday, as many survivors remained without adequate aid nine days after a cyclone ravaged the impoverished South Asian country. Despite intensified relief operations by the government and local and foreign groups, thousands of survivors hoping for food were crowding river banks and roadsides, witnesses said. "Please coordinate with us, so that we can dispatch your relief goods to the survivors who need it most," General Moeen U Ahmed told local donors.