Geneva, November 16, 2007 -- CARE has dispatched emergency teams with equipment and supplies to provide immediate relief after Cyclone Sidr ravaged Bangladesh's coastal cities Thursday.

"The area where Sidr hit has not had a major cyclone since the 1970s," says Suman SMA Islam, CARE's humanitarian assistance coordinator in Bangladesh. "We are concerned that the population is less prepared than in other places. We are afraid that this could be a major disaster."

Bangladesh authorities made a massive effort to move 3.2 million people in vulnerable areas to safety. In the end, they were only able to move 600,000 people into cyclone shelters and higher ground. The people who were unable to move out of the path of the cyclone, and others, who were forced to abandon their homes and sources of livelihood, are in need of immediate assistance.

CARE has sent five mobile water purification plants, each capable of producing 10,000 litres of fresh drinking water a day, to Khulna on Bangladesh's coast. In addition, CARE began delivering emergency food rations, plastic sheeting, candles, and plastic water containers to 5,000 families, once the storm had passed.

CARE has also provided 15 pumps to remove polluted salt water from areas where it is likely to cause contamination. Five medical teams are being kept on stand-by to move to affected areas if needed.

Cyclone Sidr comes after months of repeated floods resulting from one of the worst monsoon seasons that Bangladesh has experienced in years.

CARE provided emergency support to thousands of people during the worst part of the floods, and has been involved in helping recovery and rehabilitation efforts since then. Cyclone Sidr will put an additional burden on resources, which have already been stretched to the breaking point.

Media contacts: Jamil Ahmed, CARE Bangladesh, mobile +880-1552-314-170 William Dowell, CARE International Emergency Group, mobile +41 79 590