Sumi and her family are staying at a school where ACT members are offering assistance. Photo: Arne Grieg Riisnęs, NCA-ACT
Cyclone Sidr hit southern Bangladesh on November 15, 2007, with a high tidal surge and winds of 155 miles per hour. At least 1,100 people are reported dead and hundreds more are unaccounted for.
Initial reports suggest that the cyclone caused extensive damage to houses, crops, school buildings, roads and trees and has disrupted electricity and telecommunication systems. People were evacuated to cyclone shelters, school buildings and other available facilities over the past two days. In many places, people are also living without shelter or protection.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) will respond in cooperation with and as a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.
Prior to the cyclone making landfall, the ACT Bangladesh Forum met to determine preparedness for a possible response. PDA partner and fellow ACT member Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) held a meeting to review the latest situation and the initial plans for a response.
CCDB reports that people on the island of Moheshkali were evacuated to cyclone shelters, including 44 shelters constructed by CCDB following the devastating 1991 Bangladesh cyclone. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance provided $130,000 for that response and for shelter construction.
ACT members in India report that only a few mud houses were damaged by the cyclone in the Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh. PDA’s partner and fellow ACT member Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) reports that nearly 30,000 people were evacuated as a precaution in Orissa and that the cyclone caused some damage on the Sunderban islands in West Bengal.
PDA stands ready to respond as assessments are completed and plans for a response finalized.
Please pray for the survivors and our partners as they strive to recover from this disaster. |
