17 May 2013 - Christian Aid is releasing £100,000 emergency funds to partner organisations in Bangladesh to help them distribute food and provide emergency assistance to vulnerable communities hit by Cyclone Mahasen. Nearly 1.3 million people have been affected, 128,000 homes destroyed and 14 people are dead after heavy rain and cyclone-strength rains hit low-lying coastal regions of Bangladesh on Thursday evening.

It covers the period from: Thu, 16 May 2013 : 2130 to Thu, 17 May 2013 : 1700

Hazards
1. Cyclone
2. Storm Surge
3. Landslide

Affected Areas: Chittagong, Noakhali, Borguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Pirozpur, Laxmipur, Satkhira

As cyclone Mahasen headed towards Burma, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India, local authorities and aid agencies such as World Vision helped to minimise the dangers for people in vulnerable, low-lying areas. The Rohinga Muslim community, many living in camps in Burma's Rakhine state, were particularly at risk. Aid workers helped to evacuate 1 million people to shelters during the storm, which weakened without causing major devastation

05/17/2013 18:50 GMT

by Shafiq Alam

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, May 17, 2013 (AFP) - Bangladesh and Myanmar cleaned up on Friday after a killer cyclone wrecked tens of thousands of homes, relieved that the damage was not much worse after the storm weakened as it made landfall.

At least 48 people were either killed by Cyclone Mahasen or while trying to flee its impact, including 31 Muslim Rohingya whose bodies washed up on the shores of Bangladesh after their boat capsized while sailing from Myanmar.

GENEVA (16 May 2013) – United Nations Special Rapporteur Rashida Manjoo will visit Bangladesh from 20 to 29 May 2013 to assess the situation of violence against women its causes and consequences in the country. This is first visit to Bangladesh by an independent expert designated by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on violence against women worldwide.

Tropical Cyclone Mahasen, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm, made landfall in Bangladesh on the morning of 16 May (local time), bringing strong winds and heavy rains to Chittagong and surrounding districts. On its current path, it will continue to move northeast from Myanmar and towards the eastern states of India. The current speed at the centre of the storm is around 80 km/h and is expected to reduce its wind speed to 55 km/h as it continues to move inland.

Communities in Bangladesh are being helped by Tearfund partners to deal with a cyclone that’s struck the southern coast.

Initial reports say five people have died as cyclone Mahesen battered the capital Chittagong and surrounding areas.

Thousands of Bangladeshis are taking shelter amid fears that high waves and heavy rain will bring extensive flooding and property damage.

The situation

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), the depression formed in the Bay of Bengal has turned into cyclonic storm Mahasen on 12 May 2013.

DHAKA, 16 May 2013 (IRIN) - Some 50,000 volunteers in coastal communities across southern Bangladesh are out and about warning people to move to higher ground ahead of Cyclone Mahasen. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated so far.

"We've been working here for the last couple of days," Joydev Dutt, a Red Crescent volunteer from Barguna District, told IRIN. He has spent hours riding around on his bicycle in heavy rain with a megaphone hurled over his shoulder. "People are responding to our warning. Almost all people in this cyclone-prone area have been evacuated."