Cyclone News clippings from the Daily Star, Bangladesh
November 20, 2007
reality checkIf not anything else, hurricane Sidr remains a ghastly reminder of how ill-managed we, as a nation, are on disaster management. The death count now rises over thousands and climbing, flags an ominous sign to those involved in the evacuation scheme. Of course, the death toll has sharply decreased compared to hurricanes of the past but human life can hardly ever be quantified to measure success.
The incessant rain last Thursday coupled with the fall of temperature took us aback. The power failure in the day that followed only added to the misery of city life.
As the storm brewed in the ocean, the inhabitants of the southern districts of the country were already on red alert; little did we realise that the fallout of Sidr will continue for days to come.
When life goes back to near basics, we realise our lack of vision to combat emergencies. “We had to buy half a dozen candles from Uttara, a good four miles from my home.
A few hours in to the black out and we ran out of candles. We were simply not prepared” says Sabiha. She further adds, “We were all eager to get the latest news of the hurricane but it was like living in a remote island with no telephone or electricity. In a desperate attempt to pass time, we decided to take a stroll on the street in front of the house, while others decided to sleep through the hours”.
Rashedul Haq, a telecommunications engineer says “A part of my family lives in Barisal and larger part in Chittagong . Baffled with the black out and totally out of network, I was worried sick about the safety of my dear ones. It was not until late Friday night that I could establish contact with them. I was relieved!”
Those living in Dublar Char, Barguna and adjacent areas of the coastline, the Sidr experience was even for basic- a matter of life and death. Near to a week of the hurricane, carcasses and human corpse still float in same waters. People now homeless and desperate for food and water, look at the heavens for provisions. Once in a while a chopper flies by giving them hope; for hope is all they have.
By Mannan Mashhur Zarif Hell unleashed…
As if combating the insurgence of corruption and misuse of political power was not evidence enough of Bangladesh's resilience, the wrath of the Deity has struck. While cocooned in the safety of our lofty high-rise apartments, what we got was a mere flavour of its fury, it is a hideous thought that so many people had to be force-fed with its actual taste. The wind howled. And it meant every bit of its rage the high notes flagged. Trees were pulled out of the ground like bobby pins out of a sofa cushion, and livestock was killed. Consequently, those heavily reliant on agricultural and livestock farming witnessed their livelihood being swept away along with the uprooted trees and unhinged billboards.
Reports- particularly that published by MSNBC- hails this as the deadliest storm for the Country in more than a decade.1,100 people were killed, and the count continues. The cyclone winds- reaching 150 miles per hour as it swept inshore Thursday night- messed up the electricity and telephone lines, and knocked out the power lines, leaving millions of people in stark darkness.
Volunteers and local employees in various international organisations were deployed throughout Bangladesh, particularly to the areas most severely hit. World Vision has put together a seven-day relief packages for families that included rice, oil, sugar, salt, candles and blankets. The World Food Program further send rations for up to 400,000. Moreover, the International Federation Red Cross and Red Crescent has provided US$223,000 in vital financial support from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund to support immediate, lifesaving response efforts. Volunteers from the Cyclone Preparedness Programme and BDRCS also helped in mobilising volunteers who in turn assisted in evacuating thousands and shepherding them to safety, using megaphones and drums on the night of November 15th. Makeshift shelters were set up, and often buildings like local schools were used to accommodate the evacuatees. Both BDRCS and the Red cross will soon be dispensing food relief, medical aid and water sanitation supplies and emergency rescue teams to the affected ones.
Debris from the storm blocked roads and rivers, restricting access to reach several areas. To clear the blockage, elephants have been employed.
At this stage, we hope that the emergency would pass and the deployment of relief would be effective. In any event, Bangladesh has proved its resilience before... And just like the time and time past, this too shall pass.
By Shahmuddin Ahmed Siddiky
Photo: AFP
Cyclone News clippings from the Daily Star, Bangladesh
November 20, 2007
Big blow to the SundarbansSidr destroys a quarter of the heritage site; death toll crosses 3,000
Julfikar Ali Manik and Sharier Khan
Large mangrove trees at Alor Kol in Dublarchar were uprooted as the Sundarbans took a massive blow of Sidr Thursday night. A quarter of the flora of the World Heritage Site was totally destroyed while a large number of its fauna perished. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain
About one fourth of the four lakh plus hectares of forest area of the world heritage site, the Sundarbans, has been damaged by Cyclone Sidr, according to a primary assessment of the forest department.
According to the updated government estimate, the cyclone has affected 40 lakh individuals of 10 lakh families in 141 upazilas. Over three lakh houses have been completely destroyed and more than six lakh houses have been damaged.
The updated government estimate puts the death toll at 2,753, while the Armed Forces Division puts it at 3,113.
SUNDARBANS TAKES THE BLOW
The south-eastern part of the world's biggest single unit of mangrove forest sustained the main blow of the cyclone, saving human lives by slowing down the nature's wrath.
The forest department however has yet to get a total picture of the damage inflicted upon the wildlife of the forest that provides livelihood for more than two million people. So far the department has found only 23 carcasses of deer, along with two human bodies. Till now, the department has found no evidence of death of any Bengal Tiger.
"One fourth of the Sundarbans forest area has been damaged by the cyclone. Eight to ten percent of the forest has been damaged completely, and those trees will not regrow, while fifteen percent has been partly damaged, a part of which will regrow," said a forest official, requesting anonymity. He also said including the water bodies, the area of the Sundarbans is six lakh hectares.
The monetary value of the damage however has not been assessed yet, he added.
The forest department also has yet to start assessing the damage done to the trees in the affected areas outside the forest.
"But we have been given the impression from our field level staff that around 30 percent of those trees have been damaged," he added.
When contacted, Chief Forest Conservator AKM Shamsuddin told The Daily Star yesterday, "We have not completed our assessment yet. It will take time, because our men could not reach all the remote places."
"I have visited the Sundarbans twice after the cyclone. In my 29-year career, never before did I see the Sundarbans damaged like this," he added.
A source said, "The forest department has a facility for accommodating 1,100 of its personnel in the Sundarbans. The cyclone destroyed the accommodation for 1,000 of them. Therefore except for just 100, the remaining forest department staff and officials themselves are homeless."
The department also lost one of its workers to Sidr, who had taken shelter on a watchtower, which was brought down to the ground by the storm wind -- killing him, the source added.
Still, the scenario in the Sundarbans could have been worse if the size of the tidal wave was what it had been feared.
"Instead of a massive 20-feet surge, the tidal wave was smaller. That's why we believe the wildlife of the forest has largely escaped the wrath of the cyclone," said an official.
Another official cautioned against false impressions of the damage, as propagated by some forest officials. "Some forest officials are trying to say that a half of the forest has been damaged. I suspect, this is being said with an ill motive. If such a lie could be established as true, those people would simply strip the healthy part of the forest for their personal gains," he said.
Environmentalist and hydrologist Dr Ainun Nishat said, "It was initially thought that there would be a tidal surge of 15 to 20 feet height inside the Sundarbans. Since that did not happen, the forest will be able to recover itself soon."
DISEASE SCENARIO
Spread of diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases and acute water crisis are the two main problems chasing the survivors.
Safe drinking water has become a major concern because the cyclone has damaged the tube wells. Sweet water ponds have become saline, as the tidal surge that swept through the area came from the bay.
The tidal wave entered more than 35 kilometres into the mainland.
Director General (DG) of Health Services Dr Mohammad Shahjahan Biswas told The Daily Star, "Till now we have not received any information about uncontrolled outbreak of diarrhoea. We still have control over the matter. As of now, we are prepared to handle any such outbreak."
The Health Services Directorate has deployed 1,571 teams in the field, equipped with oral saline and other medicines.
DEATH TOLL
According to the Disaster Management Control Room (DMCR) in Dhaka, the death toll yesterday rose to 2,753 from Sunday's 2,300. It also said 2,259 people are missing, and 6,610 persons are injured.
According to the list, Barguna lost 979 persons, Bagerhat 711, Patuakhali 424, Pirojpur 309, Barisal 88, Madaripur 40, Jhalakathi 41, Bhola 34, Gopalganj 33, Satkhira 19, Shariatpur 17, Khulna 16, Faridpur 13, Narayanganj 7, Munshiganj 5, Chandpur 4, Dhaka 4, Moulavibazar 2, Laxmipur 2, and Chittagong, Jessore, Narshingdi and Narail -- 1 each.
Meanwhile, the death toll assessed by the Armed Forces Division (AFD) yesterday stood at 3,113. The AFD also puts the number of missing persons at 1,063.
DAMAGE ESTIMATE
The DMCR's updated information on total damage assessment says 141 upazilas and 1,119 unions have been affected.
The total number of affected families stands at 10.54 lakh, representing 40.83 lakh individuals.
Crops on 29,374 acres of land have been completely destroyed and on 8,55,525 acres have been damaged partially, according to the government assessment.
The number of completely destroyed houses stood at 3,00,511 yesterday and the number of partially damaged houses was 6,26,000. Besides, 3,84,000 trees have been damaged.
Some 792 educational institutions have been completely destroyed and 4,393 were partly damaged. Embankments of about 57 kilometres (km) of length have been damaged, and 58km of road has been destroyed completely while 87,948km of road has been partly damaged.
An official of the DMCR noted, "The picture will continue to evolve. We expect to get a complete picture of the damage within a week."
Meanwhile, the agriculture ministry has asked the Department of Agriculture Extension to submit an assessment report within 10 days on crop damage. The department started working on it on Sunday.
Cyclone News clippings from the Daily Star, Bangladesh
November 20, 2007
Silent queue for succour, patient wait for food
Inam Ahmed and Zayadul Ahsan, Alor Kol, Dublarchar
Survivors of Sidr in pensive wait for relief at Alor Kol in Dublarchar. Photo: STARThe line could be seen even from the sea. Hundreds of men standing in a long line.
We walk slowly up the sandy beach towards the queue. They are not only standing, but sitting as well -- they must have been here for hours -- in the hope of getting some relief. And many more are walking fast to add to the crowd.
Two tents have been set up by the navy -- one serving as a medical camp and the other as the relief distribution point. The chief adviser is supposed to come in the morning to have a look at the people of Alor Kol, one of the worst-hit islands of Dublarchar.
The crowd is strangely docile, not the usual restless and line-jumping bunch you see at any relief centre. They just wait silently and patiently. They don't look at anything, they just stare at the centre of the square where bags of food and water have been piled up for distribution.
Among the crowd sits Ali Mia, an ageless old man who still works as a fisherman. An eye gone from an accident when his trawler sank a few years ago, he still wants to eke out a living with his stringy arms and legs. He never looked for any dole-outs.
But today, Ali is here because he did not get anything to eat for the last two days. Today is the third day running, and he cannot stand it any more.
“I just need something to eat. Something to fill my tummy. Anything. There is nothing edible left on this island,” Ali says and falls silent.
Moslem had his lunch food in the morning before. He collected the rice rotten by the seawater and fried them.
“They smelled terrible. So I fried them and ate. They taste terrible,” he said.
This is how the Alor Kol fishermen and workers have been living through since the hurricane hit them with full force. Whatever food was saved from the gushing water, they shared it among themselves. And now they wait for relief.
But relief is scanty to arrive, and whatever comes is carried by the navy. Had there been no navy, Dublarchar people would have perished. And the administration is slow to wake up to the reality. In fact, the administration has very scanty idea about the people and life in the islands.
Navy ships waited the whole day today at Mongla with an empty cargo hold. But the administration did not give them any goods.
When we called the district administration office at Bagerhat in the evening, we found out to our horror that Deputy Commissioner Shahidul Islam has no idea that people live in Dublarchar. His idea is people go there only on Ras Mela scheduled for this week, an annual festival of the fishermen.
When we informed him that the official statistics say 25,000 people live in the island during the November-March peak season of fishing, he said police and magistrates of the district are staying there, coordinating relief operation.
But when it was pointed out that we have not seen any activities of the police or the civil administration, he said navy is working there and that he now learnt about the situation from us and will act accordingly.
But time is running short soon for the island archipelago that consists of eight islands. Only three islands -- Alor Kol, Meher Ali and Majher Killa -- have been addressed until now. But the others -- Narikelbari, Office Killa, Manikkhali, Shelar Char and Chaprakhali -- have not found any relief. No one exactly knows the extent of damage in these islands too.
A forest official of Narikelbari told us that the situation in that island is 'very grave'.
But time is running short for the other islands as well.
Sumon, hardly 10-year-old, is standing, holding a bamboo pole. He came here with his father after the cyclone in search of his uncle and got stuck on the island to share the miseries of the islanders. He also did not have any food since yesterday morning.
Sumon's pale eyes look sleepy but anxious. “Will we get food today, uncle?” he asks.
“May be, son,” the dark man standing beside him replies. “Don't get so restless. Let the MP Shab (former lawmaker) come, we will get food.”
We walk through the crowd. Almost everywhere we find dried fish mingled with hay and sand on the ground. The hurricane had littered the fish around. And now they just lay there, wasting. They are no more fit for consumption.
But there are fresh fish being dried up too on bamboo lines. Why don't they eat them instead of going hungry?
“No, we can't,” answers Moslem. “They are the Bahaddar's (trader) property. He would not allow us to touch them.”
Ramzan Sardar, a 60-year-old of Alor Kol, could save a small pack of Muri from the onslaught of waves and this is what he had for the last five days. He now has a terrible pain in his ear and has difficulty in hearing. The navy doctors gave him medicines. But he cannot take the painkiller tablets due to his empty stomach. He just looks vacantly at the tablets.
But despite everything, they will strive on. For them, life can be devastated but it cannot stop in its stride. They are the brave people of the sea and sunshine, as Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed mentioned in his short speech of encouragement to the islanders.
“You are a brave people, you have faced the calamities with valor that also gives us courage,” he said.
Brave as they are, they will sail to the sea again. One day. Until the next cyclone comes.