Bangladesh Cyclone
ActiondAid steps up relief efforts.“Our priority is to reach out to the poor and women.”
“The relief need is enormous but the supply is less,” said Mohammed Zakaria of ActionAid Bangladesh who is currently in Barisal, one of the worst cyclone hit areas. (
See pictures from the frontline)
“We used boats and trawlers to reach out to the remote villages as there are many people who are stranded on remote islands,” he added.
On the 7th day of its massive efforts to reach out to those affected by the cyclone, ActionAid teams, working with local organizations are putting extra efforts to reach out to women, children and other vulnerable communities.
“We saw many children in the open and women with only one sari to cover themselves,” said an ActionAid team member from Patuakhali, a disaster flashpoint.
Media reports indicate that over 3,500 people died in the killer cyclone that hit southern Bangladesh last Thursday night (November 15).
With winds of 250 kph (155 mph peed) and a 5-metre high sea surge, Cyclone Sidr left a long trail of death and devastation. Some estimates predict the “death toll may be as high as 10,000”.
The Bangladesh government has appealed for international support.
ActionAid is currently stepping up its humanitarian assistance from its own resources as well as the grant that has come from European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO). ECHO has just boosted its aid to 6.5 million euros.
Announcing the move, Louis Michel, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid spoke of the “shocking picture emerging from the coastal regions of Bangladesh”.
“We are overwhelmed. However, we will put all efforts to reach out to the people, especially women and children as they often get overlooked in such situations,” said Farah Kabir, Country Director ActionAid Bangladesh.
“Eighty per-cent of the trees and livestock have been destroyed,” report ActionAid team members who have just come back to Dhaka after their first round of relief efforts.
The emergency relief packs that ActionAid distributed include food, warm clothes, cooking vessels, utensils and medical supplies. More than one thousand families have been covered so far. Another six thousand families have been identified and will be reached in the next few days.
To supplement the efforts of its team in Bangladesh, ActionAid is deploying more humanitarian experts from its international pool.
“This cyclone has reversed the development clock by a generation” said Dr Unnikrishnan PV, Emergencies & Conflicts Advisor ActionAid International, from Dhaka. “Rebuilding communities is a long term challenge and the donors need to be sensitive to this reality.”
© Bayazid Akter/ ActionAid