Cyclones in Bangladesh

As Bangladesh is in the Asia and pacific region, she is disaster prone. Asia is more affected by disasters caused by cyclones, floods, etc. than any other continents. It is an annual phenomenon as floods. Like floods, many of the cyclones as in 1994 are mild. We suffered a severe cyclone in 1970. the severest and the world’s greatest disaster of the decade occurred on the night of April, (29-30) in 1991. It was the cause of havoc, a huge number of deaths, massive damage to life line systems and private properties. The total loss was estimated to be around US$ 2.07 billion. We are helpless against cyclones as we are against floods. We only can take some measures (pre and post) cyclone period to mitigate the losses and sufferings of the victims.

A cyclone is a violent wind rotating around a calm and central area. It is accompanied by heavy rainfall, thunder and lightning. It may occur any time at any place. When cyclone is caused by a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal, generally in the months of Chaitra/Baisak, it is most dreadful. The sea roars and the waves are fearfully high. The violent wind originating in the sea rushes towards the shore, coastal areas and the mainland. It often blows violently at a speed of 150 to 200 km an hour and coutinues for hours together, off and on the whole day or night. It normally hits hard north West Chittagong, Noakhali, Barisal and Kulna, etc. The worst affected areas are the offshore islands, Kutubdia, for instance.   

It uproots trees after trees, houses are blown off. It disrupts badly community life-line services. Rivers surge ragingly, boats, launches and streamers are sunk. It kills a lot of domestic animals, it fatally wounds and kills many human beings. The cyclone of 1991, killed about 1,40,000 people and caused widespread damage. The most extensive devastation was in the agriculture sector – standing crops, livestock, forestry, fishes, etc. of all the crops jute, pulses, vegetables, fruits, spices and betel leaves, boro paddy was hardest hit. The Export Processing Zone in Chittagong was struck severely accounting about 14.74% of the total damage in the industry. Private sector industry boro 81% devastation when public sector industry including Bangladesh Forest Development Corporation suffered the rest percentages. And common lifeline services such as water, power, communication, medical services and so on were disrupted critically.

Our disaster management toiling hard can only mitigate and did mitigate the impact of disaster through specific actions comprising immediate response and recovery, early warning, survival preparedness, evacuation, search and rescue operations, first aid, public health services and preservation of community services like water, power, communication, medical service, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Though tracking, forecasting and issue of warning was done with efficacy, our 11 storm warnings demand simplification. There were fallings in the proper dissemination of warnings in the preparedness and recovery (after the event) by the public media. Not withstanding the fact that the number of shelters increased from 300 to 1275 and the 2500 new multipurpose shelter are being constructed and (not yet completed Jan, 2004) there is inadequacy of them. We need, moreover, the urgent materialization of the long term measures like the dredging of rivers, canals, a forestation of the coastal belts, construction of more embankments, safe harbours and new roads and the strengthening of telecommunication system for quick dissemination of warnings.

Foreign and internal assistance in cash and kind which was of great necessity in the cyclone of 1991 was, obviously, very scanty. And the sufferings of millions of helpless and resource less destitute in the coastal in the coastal areas, in particular, were unthinkable. The people had nothing to withstand the losses though the time of home and income. Most distressing was the distress of the underweight children and malnutrition women. Yet they did not desert the place for making a living that might not be possible in other areas of our densely populated Bangladesh. Can anybody think of giving them small credit in their terrible plight? The unruffled and senseless credit and dole givers gave it to make them more miserable. 

We did not experience cyclone Sidr of Nov. 2007, the most violent hurricane in sixty years. It hit violently the southern part of Bangladesh, Khulna and Barisal in particular. And the hardest area is Barguna. The speed of it was 223 km per hour nearly similar to those in 1970 and 1991 which killed 5 lakh and 1.4 lakh respectively. The cyclone 1991 severely struck the EPZ in Chittagong. If Sidr hit Chittagong the damage would have been a few billion more.

There were better co-ordination preventive effort and time warnings. Hundreds of thousands of people living in the coastal zone were evacuated. The official death toll was about 3,400 where as unofficial one was near five thousand. Over a lakh cattle was killed. There were suggestions to modernize radio centers in Khulna and Barisal and to launch community radio in the coastal belts so that people get information regarding calamity quickly. Construction of 3000 more multipurpose cyclone centres was recommended. Since it was rightly understood that lives and cattle could be saved if there were more cyclone centres. Around 1.6 crore people in the coast were not covered by cyclone shelters. So more than 2000 multipurpose shelters to provide refuge to people and livestocks are needed. Many of the existing 2400 shelters which are not in useable condition are required to be renovated and turned into multipurpose centres.

One of some specialties of Sidr was that although over a half century disastrous cyclones floods occurred the UNO WFP did not make such emergence programmed as it made now. It planned six-month emergency relief for 2.2 million worst hit victims of nine most affected districts. Starting from 1^st December, 2007 each family of 5 members if to get per month a basket of 30 kg rich, 9 kg, 2.27 litres of edible oil, 1 kg salt and nutritious biscuits. More over, WEP would help those 2.2 million people restore livelihood and rural community infrastructure and launch either food for work or cash for work programme. The UNFPA is going to provide assistance to 30,000 pregnant woman are expected babies within next three to four months and soon airlift 40 delivery kits to 40 Upazilla Health Complexes.

Co-ordination, co-operation among ministers, civil and military administration including field level authorities, private & public organization and foreign agencies were greater. Impressive was to see the troops of USA (Marines) and Bangladesh Army board on helicopters and fly off to inaccessible and remote villages to distribute life sustaining supplies.

And for the first time in its history micro credit NGOs would not collect monthly loan installment nest there to four months. One big NGO wrote off hundred crore loan in the Sidr affected zone. These gestures were there because of nation-wide reaction to a cruel action of taking away the tins of the roof of an old woman for defaulting monthly loan installment by the activists of a NGO and an appeal from a high-up in the army.

There was massive devastation. Wholly destroyed homesteads were 3,63,363; party damaged, 15,628. For rebuilding & reconstruction of them, govt. allocated tk. 110 crore for roads, bridge & culverts, tk 30 crore for school & colleges, tk 10 crore. Allotment for widespread damage and destructor of embankment, was tk. 20 crore were allotted for building 2000 new multipurpose cyclone centers, for renovating many existing unusable centres and for turning a lot of them into multipurpose shelters. Govt. kept tk 25 crore towards afforestation of the coastal belt and the sundarbans. It is relevant to mention that as a shield against cyclones a 720 km long tree plantation project along the coast from Barguna to Teknaf was undertaken at the backdrop of heavy death tolls, extensive destruction by the cyclones of 1970, 1985 and 1991. Only 300 km of it was implemented of which about half was destroyed by plunderers and terrorists during previous govt. The rest of the original plan for tree planting including the restoration of the half implemented one is required. And new afforestation is essential for the Sandarbans as one fourth of it was laid in ruins by the Sidr. As 14 lakh tons of Aman rice were lost, govt. undertook massive agricultural restoration programmes and asked for 10 lakh tons of rice instead of money as relief materials from donors and world bodies.  

The provisional allocations indicate that to start with, govt. needs 2.2 billion US dollar for the immediate and long-term rehabilitation and rebuilding life in the hurricane afflicted zones and works & projects to mitigate losses in future crises. And the response was such as was seen never before. Even the USA congress passed unanimously a bill witch highlighting the casualties as well economic and environmental damage and colossal havoc of the Sundarbans, requested the USA govt. to provide support to the Sidr hit people. This had further far-reaching effect on the uno, the World Bank, donors and other countries of the globe, to boost their relief supplies, and assistance. Govt. now is to do its utmost to mobilize the required funds and step up working towards the materialization of its schemes in no time. For delay would not only result in troubles and sufferings of the victims but hinder tellingly object of mitigating future catastrophe.