CYCLONE: Death Toll Increases in Bangladesh Cyclone
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Bangladesh is recovering from yet another natural catastrophe as Cyclone Sidr killed over thousands of people, brought down thousands of homes and forced over 650,000 people to evacuate from their houses in the southwest coast.
[As always with such stories, there's some inconsistencies in the death toll numbers. As of Sunday, Nov. 18, in New York, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is reporting more than 10,000 deaths - quoting Bangladesh officials. The Associated Press, Bloomberg and others are citing 2,000 deaths.]
Some Bangladeshi bloggers from Chittagong and Dhaka are blogging about the cyclone reactions and experiences.
Read the blogs here.
BBC reporter Alistair Lawson, who reported from Bhaupur, Bangladesh writes:
"Cyclones are not new to Bangladesh, but if the authorities are to be believed, they are now far less deadly."
Read Lawson's analysis from November 1999 on the Orissa cyclone where he also talks about the deadly cyclone that devastated southeastern Bangladesh in 1991.
Also known as Cyclone Gorky, which was one of the deadliest tropical cyclones, killed over 140,000 people and left more than ten million people homeless.
Al Jazeera reports that communications has been affected as power lines have shut down although some cell phones are working irregularly.
"Samarendra Karmakar, the meteorological department head, said the storm matched the one in 1991 that sparked a tidal wave and killed an estimated 140,000 people."
The cyclone barely missed Bengal, according to Calcutta Times. But it still collapsed about 30 mud huts in Sagar Island.
AM New York, the free NYC tabloid, is covering the help NYC Bangladeshis are providing to those hit by the cyclone. From "Locals Send Help Home to Bangladesh" by Kristen V. Brown:
Armed with scissors, tape, and a few yards of pink twine, the leaders of New York City's Bengali community yesterday turned the Alauddin Sweet Meat Restaurant in Jackson Heights into makeshift fundraising headquarters for cyclone victims in Bangladesh.
Members of the Bangladesh Society of New York and Bengali social-help group the Probashi Barisal Divisional Association covered the restaurant tables with fliers and banners encouraging help, taking to the streets of Jackson Heights to raise money for the people back home.
Post comments, links and updates in the comments section below.
Latest AP report reveals:
08:44 AM11/19/2007
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) _ Authorities say the death toll from the Bangladesh cyclone has risen to more than 3,100.
Posted by: shlok | November 19, 2007 at 11:22 AM