DHAKA - A U.S. Navy vessel arrived in Bangladesh on Friday to help relief efforts after the country's deadliest cyclone in 16 years killed around 3,500 people and left thousands missing or injured.
At least 2 million people have been displaced, officials and aid workers say.
Military officials said the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge was anchored off Chittagong port and another U.S. ship, the USS Essex, was due to arrive on Saturday.
Each ship carries about 20 helicopters, which will help in delivering water, food and medical supplies to survivors in remote areas in the battered south and south-western regions, the officials said.
"The USS Kearsarge has already entered Bangladesh's territorial waters...It can start work any day," Army Chief General Moeen U. Ahmed told reporters after meeting the head of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Timothy J. Keating, in Dhaka on Friday.
Cyclone Sidr slammed in Bangladesh last week with winds of 250 kph (155 mph), swamping the low-lying coast with a 5-metre (17 ft) storm surge that travel far inland and up coastal rivers.
Preliminary estimates by officials and economists said the cyclone damaged crops and property worth about $1 billion. The government said so far it received aid pledges of $200 million.
"Quick intervention to improve food availability and self-reliance in cyclone-devastated districts will reduce the need for protracted, and more costly, life-saving assistance," said Anne M. Bauer, Director, FAO Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation Division.
She pointed to the need to quickly restore farm and fisheries production. The FAO has received $3 million for immediate assistance to cyclone-affected farmers and fishermen.
