Bangladesh - Cyclone OCHA Situation Report No. 1

OCHA/GVA 98/0352
BANGLADESH - CYCLONE
OCHA Situation Report No. 1
24 November 1998

General Situation

1. The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Dhaka reported that Cyclone 07B had made landfall across the southwestern coastline of Bangladesh on 22 November. The cyclone affected the districts of Satkhira and Khulna including the off-shore islands. According to the field reports of the Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP), the windspeed that swept the southwestern coastal belt was recorded at 5 to 20 km/h in most places at 14:00h on 22 November, with the highest windspeed on the coastal island of Dublar Char off Satkhira district at 80 km/h.

2. On 23 November, the cyclone 07B turned into a land depression and weakened gradually, causing moderate to heavy rainfall in many parts of the country. According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the districts of Khulna, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Satkhira and Barguna were the most affected. Losses reported include yet unquantified damage to rice paddy crops and to mud-fabricated houses and bamboo structures used for drying of fish (200-250 MT of semi-dried fish have been washed away), according to unconfirmed newspaper reports. Both the Government's Emergency Control Room and IFRCS/Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) indicated that they have no report of human casualty.

National Response

3. The Government instructed the civil administration at district level to evacuate vulnerable people to safe shelters. The fishermen in the area were warned to move to safer waters along the coast and inside the Sundarban's numerous channels.

4. IFRC reported that an estimated 121,000 people were assisted in reaching cyclone shelters by the National Red Crescent Society. Truck loads of relief material were loaded and ready to be dispatched, and disaster assessment teams and medical teams were put on stand-by.

5. The United Nations Disaster Management Team (UN-DMT) met on 22 November to review the situation. OCHA is in close contact with the UNDP Office in Dhaka to monitor developments. There will be no further OCHA situation reports on this disaster, unless unforeseen developments occur.

6. This Situation Report and further information on ongoing emergencies are also available on the OCHA Internet Website at: http://www.reliefweb.int.

Telephone number: +41-22-917-12 34, in case of emergency: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10
Desk Officers: Ms. S. Metzner-Strack / Ms. M. Kondo, OCHA Disaster Response
Branch, direct Tel. +41-22-917-21 44/19 97
Press to contact: Ms. E. Ponomareva, Tel. +41-22-917-23 36
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23, E-mail: info@dha.unicc.org