Struggle to help cyclone survivors in Bangladesh
Pastor Dale Morgan
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*Perilous Times and Global Warming
Struggle to help cyclone survivors in Bangladesh*
* Story Highlights
* Fights break out among survivors at relief centers
* Official death toll stands at 3,167; estimated 4 million displaced
* Villagers in Bangladesh say official death toll estimates lower
than the reality
* Red Crescent Society official says deaths could rise to 5,000-10,000
PURBA SARALIA, Bangladesh (AP) -- Overburdened relief centers scrambled
to help tens of thousands of cyclone survivors Wednesday, and fist
fights broke out among victims waiting for rice at a food distribution
center.
Villagers fight as they wait to receive aid outside a relief center
Nearly 2,000 people descended on a government-run relief camp in Purba
Saralia, hurriedly set up in a firehouse, where officials only had food
for 1,200.
"This is a crisis. I don't have enough food and we have no work," said
Lal Mia, a farmer waiting in line.
A few miles away in the village of Basal Bar, fist fights broke out
among cyclone survivors as thousands of people who had gathered before
dawn at a food distribution center set up by a local aid group.
The official death toll stood at 3,167 on Wednesday, said Lt. Col. Main
Ullah Chowdhury, spokesman for the army, which is coordinating the
relief and rescue work. Another 1,724 people were missing, the Disaster
Management Ministry said.
The coastal area battered by Cyclone Sidr, meanwhile, has been struck
with waterborne diseases, Dhaka's Daily Star newspaper reported, quoting
local health officials. Two children died of diarrhea in the hard-hit
district of Patuakhali, the newspaper reported.
The Health Ministry said it has opened a special desk to monitor any
diarrhea outbreaks. It could not immediately confirm the two reported
deaths.
"We are concerned about diarrhea," Renata Dessallien, the top U.N.
official in Bangladesh told The Associated Press. "There is no question
this will be a problem."
She said water usually gets contaminated by diarrhea-causing bacteria
following floods and cyclones.
"But I understand that the health ministry has stock of medicines and
the most important thing now is to get the supplies down to the affected
areas," she said.
The Disaster Management Ministry said 28,188 people had been injured by
the storm. The cyclone also destroyed 458,804 houses and another 665,529
houses have been partially damaged, the ministry said.
Aid agencies and U.N. officials were visiting the affected areas to
assess the damage and the aid need, said Sakil Faizullah, a spokesman
for the United Nations Development Program in Bangladesh.
Food, fresh water and temporary shelter still had not reached many of
the exhausted survivors six days after the cyclone slammed into the
low-lying country.
In a televised speech Tuesday, the country's interim leader, Fakhruddin
Ahmed, described the cyclone as "a national calamity" and urged citizens
to help the affected people.
The government said international aid worth about $390 million had been
promised so far. But relief items such as tents, rice and water have
been slow to reach most survivors of the worst cyclone to hit Bangladesh
in a decade.
On Wednesday, the World Bank announced a relief package of $250 million,
consisting of a low-interest loan and a grant.
Earlier, the European Commission announced Tuesday aid of $9.6 million.
The American Red Cross said it would provide $1.2 million to help get
clean water to the survivors and build emergency shelters.
Video Watch as people are left to fend for themselves »
"The problem is that aid workers need hours to reach these remote areas.
Poor communications are also hampering our work," said Anwarul Huq, a
spokesman for the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, the country's
largest nonprofit development organization.
In many places, aid workers had to clear fallen trees and debris to get
to survivors, said Huq, adding that rescuers also were facing a shortage
of boats.
The storm, which tore along Bangladesh's southwestern coast on Thursday,
left tens of thousands of people homeless and desperate for help.
The official death toll on Tuesday stood at 3,153, said Lt. Col. Main
Ullah Chowdhury, spokesman for the army that is coordinating the relief
and rescue work.
The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Islamic equivalent of the Red
Cross, has suggested the final figure could be around 10,000.