WESTPORT, Conn.(28 May 2009) Save the
Children has dispatched emergency assessment teams to southwestern Bangladesh and eastern India and is preparing to provide clean water, replacement items and child-protection programs to families
affected by Cyclone Aila, which struck the two countries on Monday, leaving coastal areas underwater. An estimated 3 million Bangladeshis and 2 million Indians, at least half of them
children, have been affected by the storm. The death toll for both countries is approaching 200. The cyclone's initial impact washed away thousands of mud houses and other homes and
strong winds toppled more. Thirteen-foot waves damaged river and flood-control embankments and dykes, putting hundreds of coastal villages underwater, 200 in India alone. Heavy rains have
triggered flooding, which has submerged thousands of thatched houses.
Families Lose Everything
"Families have lost their homes, livestock, crops, access to work and food and,
in many cases, clean water and sanitation. Daily life is a struggle, and thousands of children are at risk," said Ned Olney, vice president for Save the Children's global humanitarian
response. "We are working to get water treatment plants up and running so that a bad situation does not get much worse through the spread of disease." In addition to deploying
water-treatment plants, Save the Children has staff in the disaster area to begin distribution of essential household items, identify sites for child-friendly spaces and to assess other issues
confronting children. People in both countries have sought shelter on higher ground, in school buildings, government offices and cyclone shelters. In India, 400,000 people were reported
marooned, and a regional official said stormy conditions and turbulent rivers prevented the initial delivery of assistance.
With your support
Save the Children needs your support to
help meet the most critical needs of children and families in the Cyclone Aila. If you would like to donate to Save the Children please visit Save the Children US Website. Your donation will help provide drinking water, food distribution and
other necessities.Save the Children has been working in Bangladesh since 1972 and began working in India prior to independence. The agency, which implements disaster risk-reduction programs
in addition to conducting emergency relief efforts around the world and in the United States, also provided relief and assisted with recovery efforts after Cyclone Sidr swept through Bangladesh in
November 2007.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Flood-affected villagers make their way through the cyclone-hit area of Shabakhali in the Sundarbans delta, about 100 km (62 miles) southeast from the eastern Indian city of Kolkata May 27, 2009. ...
