FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11/19/2007
Press Contacts:
Nasserie Carew (202-667-8227 x561 or ncarew@interaction.org)
NGO Contacts:
Jim Bishop (202-667-8227 x524 or jbishop@interaction.org)
Jillian Robbins (202-667-8227 x568 or jrobbins@interaction.org)
InterAction Members Respond to the Cyclone and Floods in Bangladesh
On November 15th, Bangladesh was hit by Cyclone Sidr, a category 4 storm that has been identified as the second strongest cyclone to make landfall in the country since records began in 1877. The worst affected districts are in the Bay of Bengal, including Patuakhali, Barguna, Bagerhat, Barisal and Pirojpur. Officials have warned that the death toll, already above 3,100, is expected to rise to anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000. However, lower casualties than previous disasters have been attributed to an evacuation program and network of cyclone shelters, set up after a devastating cyclone in 1970 which killed an estimated half a million people.
One of the government's disaster preparedness measures included the evacuation of approximately 3.2 million people to safe places from along the coastline in 15 districts. A majority of these people have lost their homes and are now internally displaced. Early assessments indicate that nearly 500,000 homes have been fully destroyed, with around 845,000 households having been directly affected by the cyclone. The cyclone has caused extensive damage to 95% of crops in 11 districts, and shrimp hatcheries have been badly hit. Transportation and telecommunications infrastructure have been severely affected, making access and a full assessment of the damage more difficult.
InterAction members are responding to this crisis by providing medicines and basic health services, food, water, shelter, blankets and other relief supplies and services. Many organizations were already present in the country, responding to the massive floods affecting the population in August this year. Many organizations will continue working after the emergency response phase to assist the effected communities in their rebuilding efforts.
A regularly updated list of agencies responding is available at:
http://www.interaction.org/
InterAction has also developed guidelines on the most appropriate ways to help those affected by overseas disasters: http://www.interaction.org/disaster/guide_giving.html.
InterAction is a coalition of more than 160 US-based private relief, international development and refugee assistance organizations. InterAction members have agreed to abide by a set of standards to ensure accountability to donors, professional competence and quality of service.
ORGANIZATIONS RESPONDING TO THE CYCLONE IN BANGLADESH
Action Against Hunger-USA
247 West 37th Street, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10018
877-777-1420
http://support.actionagainsthunger.org/donate
ADRA International
Emergency Response Fund
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring MD 20904
1.800.424.ADRA (2372)
www.adra.org
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
JDC-Bangladesh
PO Box 530
132 East 43rd St.
New York, NY 10017
212 687 6200
http://www.jdc.org/how_donate.html
American Red Cross
Bangladesh Relief & Development
P.O. Box 37243
Washington, D.C. 20013
800-RED-CROSS
www.redcross.org
AmeriCares
Disaster Relief Fund
88 Hamilton Avenue
Stamford CT 06902
1-800-486-4357
www.americares.org
Baptist World Aid
Designate "Bangladesh Cyclone Relief"
Baptist World Aid
405 North Washington Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-790-8980
www.bwanet.org/bwaid
Brother's Brother Foundation
Bangladesh Cyclone
1200 Galveston Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
412-321-3160
http://www.brothersbrother.org/
Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
South Asia Severe Weather Fund
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21203-7090
877-HELP-CRS
www.crs.org
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
Bangladesh Floods 2007
2850 Kalamazoo Avenue, S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49560-0600
800-55-CRWRC
www.crwrc.org
Church World Service
Bangladesh Cyclone Response (#6995)
28606 Phillips Street, P.O. Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515
800-297-1516
www.churchworldservice.org
Episcopal Relief and Development
815 Second Avenue, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10017
800-334-7626
www.er-d.org
Food for the Hungry
1224 E. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
800-248-6437
https://www.fh.org/donate2?desig=31005
Habitat for Humanity International
Designate "Bangladesh"
270 Peachtree St. NW
Suite 1300
Atlanta, GA 30303
(800) 422-4827
http://www.habitat.org/disaster/vol_donate.aspx
The Hunger Project
5 Union Square West
New York, NY 10003
Phone: (212) 251-9110
www.thp.org
International Medical Corps (IMC)
Development Department
International Medical Corps
1919 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 400
Santa Monica, CA 90404
800-481-4462
www.imcworldwide.org
Lutheran World Relief
P.O. Box 17061
Baltimore, MD 21298-9832
800-597-5972
www.lwr.org
MAP International
Aid to Bangladesh
MAP International Donor Services
PO Box 7020
Albert Lea, MN 56007-9931
(800) 225-8550
www.map.org
Mercy-USA for Aid and Development
Attn: Bangladesh Cyclone Relief
44450 Pinetree Drive, Suite 201
Plymouth, Michigan 48170-3869
1-800-55-MERCY (1-800-556-3729)
www.mercyusa.org
Operation USA
3617 Hayden Avenue, Suite A
Culver City, California 90232
800-678-7255
http://www.opusa.org
Plan USA
155 Plan Way
Warwick, RI 02886
800-556-7918
http://www.planusa.org/
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Hunger
DR000002
Central Receiving Service
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, KY 40202-1396
800-872-3283
http://www.pcusa.org/pda/response/asia/bangladesh-sidr111607.htm
Relief International
1575 Westwood Blvd., Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90024
www.ri.org
Save the Children USA
Bangladesh Cyclone Relief
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org
U.S. Fund for UNICEF
333 East 38th Street
New York, NY 10016
800-4UNICEF
www.unicefusa.org
World Vision
Bangladesh Cyclone Relief
P.O. Box 9716
Federal Way, WA 98063
1-888-56-CHILD
www.worldvision.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
