Known Deaths From Cyclone in India Near 9,400

The cyclone that ravaged eastern India Oct. 29 has been confirmed as one of the worst in the country’s modern history, with a state officer saying Friday that the death toll had reached 9,392.

With thousands of victims washed out to sea and unclaimed bodies rotting or cremated on mass pyres, the toll was expected to continue rising.

Scores of the survivors have suffered serious skin burns, relief workers said Friday, raising fears that the acid from a damaged fertilizer plant was seeping into ponds where villagers bathe.

In Paradwip, the nation’s biggest port, relief workers said acid leaking from Paradwip Phosphates Ltd. was causing burns and rashes.

“Our field officers are reporting that people are suffering from terrible skin burns, and it’s getting worse,” Jagadananda, a relief worker who uses only one name, said after organizing aid deliveries near the plant.

“The water is black in the ponds, and people are using it and getting acid burns,” said volunteer Mohammed Amin.

The confirmed death toll jumped after 1,736 more bodies were discovered Friday in Ersama, about 185 miles south of Calcutta, an official said in Jagatsinghpur, one of the areas worst hit.

The U.N. Disaster Assessment and Coordination team said that 2.25 million people in Orissa state need food aid immediately to survive. All means of earning a living--crops, livestock and fishing boats--were lost, the team’s report said.

The United Nations said that 10 cities had lost their water supply, 84,000 wells need repair, and 200,000 households need water purification kits.