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