IRIN
BANGLADESH: Cyclone death toll likely to climb
20 November 2007


DHAKA, 20 November 2007 (IRIN) - The final death toll from the 
devastating cyclone that struck southwestern Bangladesh on 15 November 
continues to rise, as aid workers struggle to reach survivors.

"The death toll could rise to 10,000," chairman of the Bangladesh Red 
Crescent Society, Abdur Rob, told a news conference on 18 November in 
Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, citing the nature of the disaster, the 
living conditions of those affected, as well as continued poor 
communications and access to the cyclone-hit area.

Six days after Cyclone Sidr struck, the worst in over 15 years, the 
official toll stands at 2,625, but that figure is changing by the hour.

"This morning I saw fishermen carry two swollen bodies ashore in 
Patharghata sub-district," AKM Mohsin, a photojournalist working in the 
cyclone-devastated area, told IRIN.

"People are desperately waiting for relief. Relief is coming, but the 
need is many times more than what is being supplied," Mohsin said.

"Those who survived the cyclone need to survive its aftermath. They need 
food, clothing, medicine, water and above all, compassion," he said.

"Some deaths will never be accounted for and some bodies will never be 
salvaged. We do not see any more dead bodies around. But one cannot 
escape the smell of decomposing bodies emitting from mass graves," 
Mohsin added.

According to the Bangladesh Food and Disaster Management Ministry, some 
3.2 million people were affected when the powerful Category 4 storm 
ravaged much of the country's southwestern coastal area on the night of 
15 November resulting in large-scale devastation. Fifteen of the 
country's 64 districts were affected, 11 of them severely.

Current government estimates say close to 300,000 homes in the low-lying 
nation were destroyed, while another 600,000 plus were damaged. More 
than 2 million hectares of agricultural land were destroyed.

Accurate assessments of the true scale of the disaster are still just 
coming in: "We are getting more reports about the level of destruction 
and the number of houses lost and people stranded. Immediate relief and 
longer-term rehabilitation efforts will be essential," ActionAid's 
emergency adviser for Asia, Unnikrishnan PV, said.

Armed forces' role

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's armed forces continue to coordinate the overall 
relief operation, with army helicopters, naval ships, medical teams and 
thousands of soldiers deployed in the area.

"All our men may not have reached all points of destruction because of 
road blocks and difficult ground conditions, but our helicopters are 
flying sorties round the clock and getting relief materials to all who 
need them," Lt-Col Mainullah Chowdhury of the armed forces division 
(AFD), which is supervising emergency aid operations, said.

There had been a substantial improvement in restoring electricity to the 
affected area, Chowdhury said, adding that only 25-30 percent of areas 
in the 11 worst affected districts were still without power.

To mitigate some of the suffering - in addition to US$5.2 million in 
emergency aid for rebuilding houses and the start of a vulnerable group 
feeding (VGF) programme in southern districts - the government is 
considering steps to increase the number of VGF cards, and increase the 
per head allocation of food grains.

"The government may consider allocating 20kg rice per person under the 
VGF programme instead of the existing 10kg," Ayub Mia, a spokesman for 
the country's Food and Disaster Management Ministry, explained.

Over $25 million in aid pledged

A full assessment of damage has yet to be made, but donor nations, 
alongside the UN, are responding, and have so far pledged over $25 
million in assistance.

In addition to monetary help, they have also committed to provide rice, 
blankets, tents and other items.

Donor nations and agency representatives were expected to hold further 
talks with government representatives on 22 November to assess future 
action.

On 18 November, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced his mounting 
concern for the people of Bangladesh, stressing that the UN stood ready 
to do all it could to help in the relief effort.

Cyclones are an annual occurrence in low-lying Bangladesh, an 
impoverished nation of more than 150 million inhabitants. In 1970 a 
cyclone killed about half a million people, while another in 1991, 
killed more than 130,000.


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