THE CHURCH WORLD SERVICE: EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM
CWS SITUATION REPORT: BANGLADESH CYCLONE RESPONSE
November 19, 2007


SITUATION: The death toll from Cyclone Sidr now stands at more than 
3,000 people, with that number anticipated to increase. Needs to assist 
survivors -- particularly along coastal areas -- are dire, according to 
international relief officials.

"Food, shelter and medicine are badly needed for the survivors," Renata 
Lok Dessallien, the United Nations Resident Representative in 
Bangladesh, told the Reuters news agency after visiting areas badly hit 
by the cyclone.

There may be as many as 3 million survivors who need assistance, Reuters 
reported today. Sidr hit the southern coast of Bangladesh on Thursday 
(Nov. 15) with 155 mph winds. Some areas were hit by a 16-foot tidal 
surge.


RESPONSE: Church World Service is responding to Cyclone Sidr by 
supporting its partners and fellow members of the Action by Churches 
Together (ACT) International alliance. CWS partners are beginning 
emergency support for more than 35,500 people in southern Bangladesh by 
distributing rice, pulses, salt and oil as well as oral re-hydration 
salts.

The initial assistance, supported by the ACT Rapid Response Fund, will 
ensure two meals a day for at least five days, targeting particularly 
vulnerable groups of people including widows, children, the elderly, 
disabled and those without land. Distribution will focus on the 
districts of Bagerhat, Barisal, Gopalganj, Khulna and Madarapur.

Over the next week, the Church of Bangladesh (CoB), Christian Aid, and 
the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB), among 
other CWS partners and ACT members, will be assessing early recovery and 
longer term rehabilitation needs.

Prior to the storm, CCDB reported that people on the island of 
Moheshkali were evacuated to cyclone shelters, including 44 shelters 
constructed by CCDB following a devastating 1991 cyclone.

ACT members are coordinating their efforts with other humanitarian 
responders and local governments, and will be submitting an appeal 
proposal to ACT which will focus on long-term relief and rehabilitation 
efforts. CWS will support that appeal; in the meantime, CWS has 
established account #6995, Bangladesh Cyclone Response, for those 
seeking to support initial relief efforts, as well as the needed 
longer-term work.

For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is 
responding please visit www.churchworldservice.org or call the CWS 
Hotline, (800) 297-1516.

CWS Emergency Response Program special contacts: (212) 870-3151

Program Director: dderr@churchworldservice.org


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