The areas hit by the devastating cyclone "Sidr" are still in a state of emergency. There is an urgent need of food, water and shelters. SOS Children's Villages will provide building materials for families who have lost their homes.
During the night of 15 November, Cyclone Sidr cut a trail of destruction through nine coastal districts. One of the worst hit areas is Bagerhat. In Sarankhola, a part of Bagerhat district, 627 deaths have been reported so far, 6,000 families have lost their homes and 22,000 houses have suffered major damage.
Southkhali, a community consisting of several villages, was completely destroyed. The people there are without shelter and protection and live under the open sky now. SOS Children's Villages Bangladesh will provide building materials for 650 families in Southkhali in co-ordination with the district authorities of Bagerhat and the national government, so that the people will be able to repair their roofs. Apart from food and water, a place of shelter is what people need most to make it through the coming months. The families will also receive blankets.
Relief supplies will most likely be distributed by the national army, which is responsible for emergency relief in co-operation with the local authorities. The army has the necessary means of transport and logistic equipment to reach even barely accessible areas.
SOS Children's Village Khulna and SOS Vocational Training Centre Bagerhat are situated in the disaster area. None of the children and co-workers there has been harmed. There has only been minor damage to the SOS Children's Village facilities: the storm has uprooted more than 100 fruit trees and some roofs have been damaged.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
