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 1st 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.
