The day after the storm struck the coast, three Pakistani gunboats and a hospital ship carrying medical personnel and supplies left Chittagong for the islands of Hatia, Sandwip and Kutubdia. Teams from the Pakistani army reached many of the stricken areas in the two days following the landfall of the cyclone. Pakistani President Yahya Khan returned from a state visit to China and overflew the disaster area on November 16. The president ordered "no effort to be spared" to relieve the victims. He also ordered that all flags should be flown at half-mast and announced a day of national mourning on November 21, a week after the cyclone struck land.