The destroyed village of Kanchopur, 130km north of capital Dhaka

Medical teams have also been sent to Mymensingh and Netrokona districts amid fears the number of dead could rise further.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and opposition leader Sheikh Hasina have also visited the affected areas.

The tornadoes, the worst in recent years, struck at least 12 villages.

Thousands of people were left homeless as their houses were blown away by Wednesday's strong winds and rains.

Many have been living in the open since then.

Thrown into the air

Survivors have buried the dead and held mass prayers.

We are rushing cash, rice, corrugated tin for making homes, and clothes to the affected areas Relief official, Badrul Haider Patwary

"Village after village is lying in ruins. People are still in trauma," a local official in Netrokona, Prasanta Kumar Das, told Reuters.

The storm only lasted a few minutes yet destroyed about 1,500 houses, damaged crops and trees and killed livestock.

"Besides cash and dry food, medical help is being provided by government agencies," a spokesman for the disaster management authorities in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, said.

Badrul Haider Patwary, chief of aid operations in Mymensingh, told AFP: "We are rushing cash, rice, corrugated tin for making homes and clothes to the affected areas."

Hospitals in the area are reported to be overflowing with victims seeking treatment for injuries.

Doctors in a small hospital in Netrokona said they had treated more than 700 villagers with broken limbs or wounds to the head.

The force of the storm had thrown many people into the air.

Television footage showed many victims lying on hospital floors.

"This is the worst tornado of the past few years," said relief and disaster management minister, Chowdhury Kamal Yusuf, who toured the area with the prime minister.