November 19, 2007

The death toll from Cyclone Sidr now stands at more than 3,000 people, with that number anticipated to increase. Needs to assist survivors -- particularly along coastal areas -- are dire, according to international relief officials.

"Food, shelter and medicine are badly needed for the survivors," Renata Lok Dessallien, the United Nations Resident Representative in Bangladesh, told the Reuters news agency after visiting areas badly hit by the cyclone.

There may be as many as 3 million survivors who need assistance, Reuters reported today. Sidr hit the southern coast of Bangladesh on Thursday (Nov. 15) with 155 mph winds. Some areas were hit by a 16-foot tidal surge.

RESPONSE: Church World Service is responding to Cyclone Sidr by supporting its partners and fellow members of the Action by Churches Together (ACT) International alliance. CWS partners are beginning emergency support for more than 35,500 people in southern Bangladesh by distributing rice, pulses, salt and oil as well as oral re-hydration salts.

The initial assistance, supported by the ACT Rapid Response Fund, will ensure two meals a day for at least five days, targeting particularly vulnerable groups of people including widows, children, the elderly, disabled and those without land. Distribution will focus on the districts of Bagerhat, Barisal, Gopalganj, Khulna and Madarapur.

Over the next week, the Church of Bangladesh (CoB), Christian Aid, and the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB), among other CWS partners and ACT members, will be assessing early recovery and longer term rehabilitation needs.

Prior to the storm, CCDB reported that people on the island of Moheshkali were evacuated to cyclone shelters, including 44 shelters constructed by CCDB following a devastating 1991 cyclone.

ACT members are coordinating their efforts with other humanitarian responders and local governments, and will be submitting an appeal proposal to ACT which will focus on long-term relief and rehabilitation efforts.

CWS will support that appeal; in the meantime, CWS has established account #6995, Bangladesh Cyclone Response, for those seeking to support initial relief efforts, as well as the needed longer-term work.

Media Contact: Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net