Bangladesh: Cyclone Sidr Situation Report No. 6

Bangladesh: Cyclone Sidr OCHA Situation Report No. 6

This situation report is based on information received from the Bangladesh Disaster Management Information Centre, the UN Resident Coordinator's Office Bangladesh, the Disaster Emergency Response Group (DER), UN Agencies and OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP).

I. Situation in Bangladesh

1. Cyclone Sidr, Category IV, hit Bangladesh on the evening of 15 November. The cyclone struck offshore islands at 1830 hours and made landfall across the southern coast from Cox's Bazaar in the east toward the Satkhira districts in the west at 2030 hours local time, with wind speeds of up to 240 km/ph. The storm caused extensive damage to the southern districts as it moved north across central Bangladesh.

2. More than 5 million people in 30 districts were affected by the storm. As of 21 November, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) official reports indicated a death toll of 2,942 people, with a further 1,724 missing and 28,188 injured. This number is expected to increase as information is verified. Material damage is severe, with over 458,804 homes were destroyed and a further 665,529 houses were partially damaged. The GoB estimates more than 1.4 million acres of crops are damaged and over 360,000 livestock are confirmed killed. Extensive damage to roads and public buildings was also reported, including 1,780 educational institutions destroyed and another 5,700 partially damaged. The worst affected areas include Bagerhat, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Gopalgonj, Jhalkhati, Khulna, Mandaripur, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Satkhira and Shariatpur districts.

3. On the basis of early assessment data, priority needs include food, clean water supply, diarrhoea treatment and shelter assistance. The longer term perspective requires rehabilitation of livelihoods, infrastructure, health and educational services and increased shelter capacity.

II. National Response in Bangladesh

4. To date, the Chief Government Adviser has allocated 138 million taka for relief and house construction in 11 districts. The Deputy Commissioners are procuring and collecting sufficient amount of dry food to respond to the current situation. The Ministry of Food and Disaster Management (MoFDM) has allocated 7,070 metric tonnes of rice, 7,500 tents, 18,000 blankets and 30 million taka as gratuitous relief grants, to date. A special fund was established allocating 350 million taka for housing construction grants. 13,000 bundles of corrugated iron sheets are ready for immediate distribution. 732 medical teams are working in the affected areas. The military continues to bring relief items to the affected people by planes, boats and helicopters as more roads are opened.

5. The Government of Bangladesh's early warning and preparedness systems were activated prior to the cyclone making landfall, which greatly reduced the humanitarian impact of this disaster. Preparedness measures included the evacuation of approximately 3.2 million people. Alarms were raised and relief and rescue items were stockpiled.

6. The Government of Bangladesh held the Disaster and Emergency Response group (DER) meetings on 15 November and 18 November. The next DER meeting will be held on 22 November and will discuss needs assessment results.

III. International Response in Bangladesh

7. The United Nations, IFRC, and NGOs, including Save the Children, World Vision International, CARE, Caritas, OXFAM, Islamic Relief, ACT, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Muslim Aid, CONCERN, Plan and ActionAid continue to provide support to the Government of Bangladesh through extensive emergency response mechanisms throughout southern Bangladesh.

8. In coordination with the Bangladesh Air Force, the United Nations is distributing 208 tonnes of high-energy biscuits to assist an estimated 850,000 cyclone affected people. 240,000 packets of water purifying powder are reaching 48,000 families. Shelter materials (thick polyesters) will also be distributed to 18,000 households whose houses were destroyed. Partners are currently distributing dry food (flattened rice and molasses) to 70,000 affected families. Medical officers have been made available to assist Government response, including four for coordinating central response. The UN began procurement and distribution of 60,00 family kits, tube wells, 100,000 Jerry cans, USD 1.5 million for medicine, 92 metric tones of baby food, 100,000 blankets, 60,000 family kits, 60,000 children clothing, 50,000 plastic sheets. USD 50,000 has been made available for water and supplies and transportation. More relief will be made available following initial determination of needs, which is expected on 22 November.

9. The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator released a second round of Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) allocations to the amount of USD 5.92 million for activities in Heath, Telecommunications, Emergency Shelter and Non-Food Items on 21 November. This is in addition to the initial CERF allocation of USD 8.75 million for projects in Agriculture, Child Protection, Food, Nutrition and Water and Sanitation disbursed on 19 November.

10. On 16 November, IFRC launched a preliminary emergency appeal for USD 3.5 million to support the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society to assist 235,000 beneficiaries for a period of nine months. The China Red Cross pledged USD 50,000 in assistance for the Red Cross Society of Bangladesh.

11. The World Bank pledged up to USD 250 million The funds to provide food imports, medical supplies, and cash grants, as well as for infrastructure rehabilitation and flood mitigation.

12. The following countries have pledged assistance to the relief effort, to date: Australia (USD 2.8 million); Belgium (USD 2 million); Canada (USD 3,400,000); China (USD 1 million); Czech Republic (USD 80,645); Denmark (USD 965,764); Estonia (USD 46,045); France (USD 720,461); Germany (USD 1,008,645); India (USD 1 million); Ireland (USD 720,461); Japan (USD 307,018); Kuwait (USD 10 million); Netherlands (USD 1,440,922); Spain (USD 1,080,692); Sweden (USD 2,668,780); United Kingdom (USD 5,165,289); United States of America (USD 2,352,215). The USA also contributed USD 100,000 in initial emergency assistance, as well as providing a five-person disaster assessment team to assist local authorities with relief and recovery efforts. Pakistan made an in-kind contribution of four C-130 plane loads and one ship of relief goods.

13. The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) has pledged USD 9.6 million to the Cyclone Sidr emergency response. The OPEC Fund for International Development committed USD 500,000 to the IFRC to provide essential relief supplies and support in the emergency operation.

14. Caritas Spain contributed USD 288,184 for emergency aid to the affected disaster population.

15. For updated information on financial contributions, please refer to the OCHA Financial Tracking System website: http://reliefweb.int/fts/. Donors are encouraged to verify contributions and inform FTS of corrections/additions/values to this table.

16. This situation report, together with further information regarding on-going emergencies, is also available on the Reliefweb: http://www.reliefweb.int.

ENDS

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