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A mother in a veil takes her injured
daughter to a hospital in Barisal district town, southwest of the
Bangladesh capital Dhaka, Nov. 17, 2007. Military ships and helicopters
were trying on Saturday to reach thousands of survivors of a super cyclone
that killed more than 1,600 people and pummelled impoverished Bangladesh
with mighty winds and waves. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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DHAKA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Death toll from Saturday night's powerful
cyclone Sidr rose to 2,217 as rescuers frantically looked for thousands of
missing people in the coastal districts of Bangladesh.
The latest bulletin of the Food and Disaster
Management Ministry Sunday evening put the death toll at 2,217.
Rescuers and local journalists who visited the worst
hit offshore islands feared the casualty figure will go up further as thousands
of villagers, mostly fishermen, were still missing.
Air force helicopters navy ships and coast guards are
making desperate efforts to rescue people and deliver foods to the cyclone
victims.
Southwestern Mongla Navy Commander Rezaul Karim told
Xinhua they rescued 110 fishermen floating from the sea
Sunday, three days after the cyclone. The fishermen saved their
lives by holding plastic drums they used to carry drinking water.
The storm damaged 968,000 houses. Besides, standing
crops on some 518,481 acres (about 210,000 hectares) of land were completely or
partially damaged during the catastrophic storm.
Some 242,000 domestic animals and poultry birds were
killed during the tempest, the sources said.
Food and Disaster Management acting secretary Ayub
Miah said Bangladesh's development partners assured the government of assistance
in conducting a relief and rehabilitation program.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP),
UNICEF, the UK government, the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID), Islamic Relief-UK and Spain have pledged to provide over 30
million U.S. dollars.
Meanwhile, World Food Program (WFP) would allocate
10,000 metric tons of rice and 200 tons of high protein biscuits.
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Graphic showing the path of Tropical
Cyclone Sidr. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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Bangladesh Red Crescent Society
appeals for $5.7 mln assistance for cyclone victims
DHAKA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh Red Crescent Society
(BDRCS) Sunday said it has already appealed for 400 million taka (about 5.7
million U.S. dollars) in international assistance for the cyclone victims in the
country.
"Hopefully, proper response will be received about
our appeal by two or three days," BDRCS chairman Prof M Abdur Rob was quoted by
private news agency UNB as saying. Full story
Chinese president offers sympathies to
Bangladesh over devastating cyclone
BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao
offered sympathies on Sunday to his Bangladesh counterpart Iajuddin Ahmed over
the casualties and devastation caused by Cyclone Sidr in the South Asian
country.
In a message sent to Iajuddin, Hu offered deep
sympathies for the victims of the cyclone and expressed the belief that the
Bangladesh people will overcome the difficulties and rebuild their homes soon.
Full story
EC announces fast-track aid for
cyclone victims in Bangladesh
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People take shelter at the Chila cyclone
shelter in Khulna district, south of Dhaka. More than 1,100 people were
killed, many missing and thousands injured in Bangladesh as a powerful
cyclone lashed country's south and southwestern regions Thursday
evening.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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BRUSSELS, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission
released here Friday 1.5 million euros (about 2.1 million U.S. dollars) in
fast-track aid to help victims of Cyclone Sidr which struck Bangladesh Thursday
evening.
Louis Michel, the European Commissioner responsible for
Development and Humanitarian Aid, said: "This is a major tragedy with hundreds
already known to have died and hundreds of thousands suffering from this
disaster." Full story
Bangladeshi resident shocked at loss
of lives by cyclone
DHAKA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Bangladeshi
President Iajuddin Ahmed has expressed on Friday that he was deeply shocked at
the loss of lives and property caused by the severe cyclonic storm that swept
over the country Thursday midnight.
He also conveyed sympathy to the
affected families. Full story
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Families look at the devestation caused
by the cyclone in the village Kanainagar, in Mongla in Khulna, some 320
kms south of the capital Dhaka.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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Backgrounder: Over 80 cyclones ravage
Bangladesh in 131 years
DHAKA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's coasts have been
hit by over 80 cyclones in the past 131 years since 1876, killing about 2million
people and making many more millions homeless, meteorologists said.
On Nov. 1, 1876, the "Great Bakerganj Storm" hit southern
Barisal region at a speed of 220 kmh, killing about 200,000 people. It was
considered "a great human disaster" as the country's population was scanty
compared with 140 million nowadays. Full story
Cyclone SIDR starts pounding on
Bangladesh's coastline
DHAKA, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- A powerful cyclone with strong
winds started pounding on Bangladesh's south and southwestern coast from
Thursday evening.
Officials engaged in evacuation from remote offshore
islands said winds with a speed of 100 to 130 kph started lashing their areas
ahead of impending attack by the super severe Cyclone "SIDR". Full story
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