Some news BBC and NYT and blog reports are beginning to trickle in about the aftermath of Sidr, which flattened the Bangladeshi coast and moved on through Bangladesh before turning into a tropical storm. So far the death toll has been far lower than the previous big cyclone (600+ and rising) owing to early warnings, evacuations, etc., but given outages of the national power grid, blocked roads & debris, rescue workers are having a hard time reaching people. Dhaka experienced a Category 3 hurricane; friends reached via mobiles (cell phones) report that residents have had little or no power or water since the storm. Uncultured Project blogger Shawn has several posts of his experiences, including cheers when the electricity came on for an hour and the roar of generators in the streets. Signs of Bangladeshi resilience are everywhere, but the country and its people face a long-road to recovery owing to the needed reconstruction. Rumi and others write about the flattened and flooded crops, dead livestock, environmental damage to Sundarbans which took a direct blow, and repairing infrastructures.
Even before Sidr, Bangladesh had been going through political and economic struggles. Bangladesh is still in a state of political emergency with a civilian caretaker government backed by the military. Elections are not planned until late 2008. Essential food prices are up and even before the storm, the government admitted that it had to import rice and other foodstuffs. The garments export sector continues to struggle with competition from China and Vietnam. Ironically, the major export fair Bangladesh Apparel and Textile Exposition (Batexpo 2007) opened on Thursday--right before Sidr arrived to give potential buyers a taste of Bangladesh, its weather, and resilience. The women garment workers are dutiful: in previous, hartals, national emergencies or disasters--flooding--garment workers have somehow arrived at their workplaces albeit by boat.
Finally, perhaps one sign of development/ICT: last night Nari Jibon English teacher and blogger Bipa contacted me on email via her cell phone browser because that was her only power supply for communication during the power outages. She's ok.
I hope that the USA and other international media and bloggers continue to cover this ongoing situation and post Sidr recovery. We will post more stories from Nari Jibon staff and students as we receive them. Nonetheless, the essential thing that people need to use a computer and their mobiles: power! This seems to be in short supply in Bangladesh right now along with safe-drinkable water.
Some parts also crossposted in Bangladesh from our View
Showing posts with label Sundarbans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sundarbans. Show all posts
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Cyclone Sidr landfall in Sundarbans & what shelters-disaster preparation?
Nearly Category 5 hurricane Cyclone Sidr made landfall in Sundarbans forests, a relatively unpopulated area, but home to the few remaining Bengal tigers. According to Dr. Jeff Masters, the storm surge should be around 20-25 feet. In the last big cyclone this resulted in much long-term flooding, saturation, and destruction to the low-lying areas to the east of the Sundarbans.
Although the government says its preparations include the shelters built after the previous cyclone, many are asking: What shelters and in what condition? Both Masters and the BBC among others have commented on the limited number of 2500 multi-use shelters and many of them are in poor condition for the millions that need them. Others may have no where to go and as noted in my earlier post and in BBC, refuse to leave their dwellings, animals and families despite a more extensive warning system than in 1970 and 1991. Or some fishing boats seek to gain the advantage against fewer boats and get caught in the storms.
The Government of Bangladesh says that it is ready to deal with the situation much like they have with the floods of 2004 and 2007. Rezwan provides a list of events and preparations. As shown in pictures, many people have already sought shelter. We will have to see how this transpires because besides some warnings and evacuation orders, much of the previous disaster responses and international donor-media attention have occurred much after the event when Bangladesh appealed for help.
Inland, Dhaka residents already were feeling the effects of Sidr. On midday Thursday, some Nari Jibon Project staff told me via e-mail that they had already experienced hard rains, high winds, and much difficulty reaching the project office. Knowledge of the Cyclone and its track was limited to reports in local newspapers and they were shocked to see the tracking links-pictures that I had sent via my previous blog post.
According to Project Director, Rafiq Islam, "It has been raining since morning with onek thanda batash (much cold wind) I have come to office onek kosto kore (much hard effort)". I sent the staff and few students home before they had any further transportation challenges in flooded streets and high winds that send debris and tin roofs airborne. The Project office and classes will be closed until the weather clears. These Dhaka weather conditions occurred, even in advance of Sidr's landfall on Thursday night. Now Sidr is moving onwards through the densely populated southern region to Dhaka as a Category 2 hurricane.
Some newer links Bangladesh & Dhaka, Media updates
Please continue to keep the people of Bangladesh and India in your thoughts and prayers as Sidr continues its path through the heart of Bangladesh.
Although the government says its preparations include the shelters built after the previous cyclone, many are asking: What shelters and in what condition? Both Masters and the BBC among others have commented on the limited number of 2500 multi-use shelters and many of them are in poor condition for the millions that need them. Others may have no where to go and as noted in my earlier post and in BBC, refuse to leave their dwellings, animals and families despite a more extensive warning system than in 1970 and 1991. Or some fishing boats seek to gain the advantage against fewer boats and get caught in the storms.
The Government of Bangladesh says that it is ready to deal with the situation much like they have with the floods of 2004 and 2007. Rezwan provides a list of events and preparations. As shown in pictures, many people have already sought shelter. We will have to see how this transpires because besides some warnings and evacuation orders, much of the previous disaster responses and international donor-media attention have occurred much after the event when Bangladesh appealed for help.
Inland, Dhaka residents already were feeling the effects of Sidr. On midday Thursday, some Nari Jibon Project staff told me via e-mail that they had already experienced hard rains, high winds, and much difficulty reaching the project office. Knowledge of the Cyclone and its track was limited to reports in local newspapers and they were shocked to see the tracking links-pictures that I had sent via my previous blog post.
According to Project Director, Rafiq Islam, "It has been raining since morning with onek thanda batash (much cold wind) I have come to office onek kosto kore (much hard effort)". I sent the staff and few students home before they had any further transportation challenges in flooded streets and high winds that send debris and tin roofs airborne. The Project office and classes will be closed until the weather clears. These Dhaka weather conditions occurred, even in advance of Sidr's landfall on Thursday night. Now Sidr is moving onwards through the densely populated southern region to Dhaka as a Category 2 hurricane.
Some newer links Bangladesh & Dhaka, Media updates
Please continue to keep the people of Bangladesh and India in your thoughts and prayers as Sidr continues its path through the heart of Bangladesh.
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