Masked rescue workers were struggling to clear mounds of bloated corpses 11 days after a fierce cyclone in India, and the Red Cross estimated Tuesday that 10,000 people had died -- far more than Indian authorities were reporting. A Red Cross disaster expert said the official death figure of 3,426 seemed inaccurate because thousands of bodies were cremated or buried by relatives or neighbors before official help arrived.

"We've been as sensible as possible with the figures," said Francis. He said more than 10 million were estimated to have lost their homes, livestock or livelihood.

 "When you come across stories of 20 people left out of a village of 170, it clocks up pretty fast," Francis said. Many people were dying of starvation apart from gastroenteritis, he said.