The confirmed death toll from the cyclone reached 3,113 by November 19, while 3,322 are injured and 1,063 missing, Lieutenant-Colonel Main Ullah Chowdhury said.

Media reports said the death toll had already passed 3,500, and was likely to rise sharply.

While it would take several days to determine the number of dead and missing, about 3 million survivors who were either evacuated from the low-lying coast or whose homes and villages were destroyed would need support.

Aid workers fear inadequate supplies of food, drinking water and medicine could lead to outbreaks of disease.

“Food, shelter and medicine are badly needed for the survivors,” Renata Lok Dessallien, United Nations Resident Representative in Bangladesh said after visiting cyclone-hit areas.

Cyclone Sidr was the worst to hit disaster-prone Bangladesh since 1991 when nearly 143,000 people died in a cyclone and tidal surge.