PATUAKHALI , Bangladesh ( CNN ) -- Survivors of a storm that killed more than 3,000 people in the impoverished nation of Bangladesh grieved and buried their loved ones Monday as they waited for aid to arrive . Villagers grieve in Patargata , around 125 miles south of Dhaka , capital of Bangladesh , Monday . The number of dead killed from Cyclone Sidr -- now at 3,114 -- is expected to rise yet further as the South Asian nation continues to assess the damage . The Bangladesh Red Crescent fears the death toll could be 5,000 -- perhaps even reaching as high as 10,000 . In the fishing village of Galachipa , in Patuakhali district , Dhalan Mridha was grieving for family members who died in the cyclone after ignoring an alert issued by authorities . `` Nothing is going to happen . That was our first thought and we went to bed . Just before midnight the winds came like hundreds of demons . Our small hut was swept away like a piece of paper , and we all ran for shelter , '' Mridha , a 45-year-old farm worker , told The Associated Press . On the way to a shelter , Mridha lost contact with his wife , mother and two children . The next morning he found their bodies . The Category 4 cyclone raked Bangladesh 's southwest coast on Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 241 km/h ( 150 mph ) , destroying fishermen 's hamlets and villages . Thousands are still missing , while an estimated 280,000 others are unable to return to their homes which were wiped out by the storm . Many grieving families are now burying loved ones in single graves as no male members are available to dig them . Most houses in the region are made of flimsy materials such as bamboo and corrugated iron , and had no chance of withstanding the storm 's powerful winds . In addition , the storm-struck area is criss-crossed by a huge river delta which surged as Sidr pushed through , wiping out many villages and littering the river 's shores with debris . Watch as people are left to fend for themselves » . Low-lying Bangladesh is already prone to flooding which has wiped out the country 's rice production -- a major food staple for the impoverished country . Improved warning systems and shelters have kept the number of deaths far lower than the disastrous cyclones in the region of 1970 and 1991 , when the tolls were in the hundreds of thousands . Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed visited the devastated region Sunday , handing out some aid to the crowds of people before members of the international media . It was seen largely a token effort as hundreds were left empty-handed and furious . Security officials struggled to hold back the crowd . See dramatic photos of storm survivors » . Sidr has already ruined Bangladesh 's rice harvest , but the international community is rallying to make sure the country does not suffer as acutely as it has in the past . Nearly a million people died after massive floods wiped out the country 's rice production in 1974. International aid organizations promised initial packages of $ 25 million during a meeting with Bangladesh agencies Monday , the U.N. 's World Food Program said . The United States has offered more than $ 2 million as an initial contribution for emergency relief , and sent two U.S. Navy carriers to help in recovery operations . In addition , the U.S. Agency for International Development ( USAID ) is airlifting in relief supplies and an 18-person Department of Defense medical team is in Bangladesh helping the estimated 15,000 injured by the storm . Bangladesh 's government held an emergency Cabinet meeting Saturday to assess the disaster and discuss recovery issues , Bangladeshi government spokesman Fahim Munaim told CNN . Officials fear the scope of the destruction may be much more extensive since there are remote areas where conditions can not yet be determined . Munaim said nearly a third of Bangladesh 's 64 districts were affected by the cyclone , most of those along the southern coast . The Bangladeshi military is working to provide shelter for the many people who have been displaced . International aid groups -- including Save the Children , World Vision , and the Red Crescent , which already have offices in Bangladesh -- are deploying resources to the cyclone-stricken region but -- like the government -- they have found it nearly impossible to reach the more remote areas to assess conditions . Roads to remote areas are either blocked by massive trees fallen by the storm , or so severely damaged that it is impossible for vehicles to use . Clearing could take weeks in the remote areas because it must be done by hand -- there are no chainsaws and modern machinery to speed up the process . Along the broken road that leads into Kolapara , the body of an 8-year-old girl called Rummie was carefully carried away for burial . Overwhelmed with sadness , her mother Khadija was steadied by a relative . `` I am feeling too much pain in my heart , '' she said . `` I have lost my daughter , so I am a victim of the cyclone as well . '' E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Dan Rivers contributed to this report .
Survivors of Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh waiting for help to arrive . Red Crescent Society official says deaths could rise to 5 - 10,000 . Bangladeshi government distributes aid ; angry villagers go empty - handed . Thousands remain missing ; estimated 280,000 homeless .