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Cyclone Sidr hit the coast of Bangladesh on Thursday 15 November. Over 3,000 people are dead and one million people have been evacuated from their homes. The British Red Cross has launched an appeal to help those affected The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is providing emergency shelter, food supplies, blankets, medical supplies, and basic healthcare for survivors.

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Categories

  • Disaster Relief Disaster Relief
  • Health/Wellbeing Health/​Wellbeing
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)
    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Young People (18-30) Young People (18-30)
    • Other Other

    Situation

    Cyclone Sidr triggered a tidal surge that devastated three coastal towns and destroyed homes, crops and infrastructure. In the storm’s aftermath, more than 3,000 people are dead and hundreds of thousands in desperate need of food, clean water, shelter and medical assistance. Early assessments indicate that nearly 500,000 homes have been fully destroyed, with around 845,000 households having been directly affected by the cyclone. Trees have been uprooted, blocking roads and causing further damage. Paddy fields in the area have been ruined by flooding. Many sources of drinking water are now contaminated. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is providing immediate and short-term recovery support to 235,000 people. This includes basic healthcare, hygiene promotion, safe water and sanitation facilities, emergency shelter, instant dry food, non food items, fishing nets, tools, seeds and saplings. Long-term support will follow. The rescue and relief effort is not made any easier by the fact that many remote areas are incredibly hard to reach and communications and electricity remain down. Our Bangladesh Cyclone Preparedness Project was set up more than a year ago. It saves lives and reduces the vulnerability of cyclone-prone communities by improving people’s ability to prepare for a disaster both within their own household and the wider community. Following a warning from the government meteorological department on 14 November, Bangladesh Red Crescent volunteers started to alert and evacuate thousands of people as the cyclone approached. Working alongside government authorities, we used megaphones and hand sirens to warn communities. All fishing boats were advised to return to land and educational institutions were closed. Approximately 50,000 people successfully sought refuge from the high winds in our 86 specially built cyclone shelters in the area but the power of Cyclone Sidr far exceeded the normal strength of anticipated seasonal cyclones and the result has been devastating. We value the support we receive very highly. The Red Cross has a permanent presence in communities across the world through our sister national societies. We can therefore provide assurances that our donations are secure. We invite supporters to become as involved in our work as they wish to, so they understand the impact their contribution makes to the lives of the people we help. We want our supporters to feel as much of a sense of ownership and pride in the Red Cross as we do.

    Solution

    100%
    Categories

  • Disaster Relief Disaster Relief
  • Health/Wellbeing Health/​Wellbeing
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)
    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Young People (18-30) Young People (18-30)
    • Other Other