Post cyclone relief: coordination is the main requirement
Scarcity of water, possibility of a diarrhoea epidemic, the onset of winter and lack of proper clothes may turn the post Sidr situation into a nightmare never experienced by this country before. But, if we can coordinate relief work and also make efforts to counter such disasters in the future, then we will save a lot of people now and in the days to come, writes Towheed Feroze
The nation's eyes at the moment are on the southern part of the country and as each day passes, we come face to face with more tales of human suffering and, these tales, apart from showing us the total devastation of the area, also make one thing painfully clear: there is a lack of coordination in the relief effort. Now, it would not be proper to point finger at any specific quarter because no one section is particularly responsible, but once the harrowing tales of thousands of people languishing under an open sky come before us, we have to accept the fact that seven days after the disaster, help has not yet reached the remote parts of the country. In fact, a report in a Bangla newspaper informs us that till today, many areas of Kuakata, the tourist spot located on the southern part of the country, are still not accessible. And, everyday, in the news, we are face to face with people who are literally fighting to get basic help. For the last three days, water has been identified as the main need in many areas and though NGO's like CARE, Save the Children and others with their partners are operating water treatment plants, in the field the number of such equipment is inadequate compared to the ever increasing number of people needing fresh water. Photos of children eating fermented rice have come before us and it does not take an expert to realise that this diet is lamentably meager lacking rudimentary nutrients. And, there is the whole coordination process, the process of getting all sorts of help out there in the affected areas that is being hampered because the country was not prepared to go into instant action after a natural disaster. In the beginning, the main thrust was on water, rice, lentils, oil and salt but at the moment dropping temperature is also turning out to be a major hurdle.
It's already the end of November and within a week, the country will officially enter the winter season and unless the affected people get a huge amount of warm clothes they will have to perish in bitter cold. Just imagine the scenario: utter destruction from Sidr, inadequate help, delay in getting aid and then a biting cold spell. If there is a cycle of bad luck, then it does not get worse than this. Now, though we regret the slow moving mechanism of the authority in sending help, we must also laud the efforts that are desperately trying to optimise the options that are available. The army is there, the navy is also in action and the US is intervening with its forces. Our neighbouring countries have responded promptly and, at this moment, with all the help and the logistics available to us, it's safe to speculate that if all these are coordinated into one entity, then post Sidr human suffering can be minimised.
However, we must also allow our responses to evolve in relation to the changing circumstances. Now we know that there is the possibility of diarrhoea breaking out in an epidemic form and so that needs to be addressed. Wayne Ulrich, regional coordinator of CARE International informs that in the affected areas of Sharonkhola and Morelganj, people are defecating under an open sky and such indiscriminate acts can easily lead to widespread dysentery and other health complications.
But, perhaps, the greatest challenge will come from the onset of winter and unless there are measures taken now, the death toll will rise. Communication suffered immensely due to the cyclone and we know that Kuakata is still not accessible and that means that we do not have enough helicopters or relief boats to reach the remote places. Now, just to look at a possible scenario where the same place is hit twice. Imagine another cyclone hitting the same area just after Sidr. Of course the better part of logic will state the improbability of that but what if? In fact, just after Sidr hit us, international storm response teams actually predicted that several such cyclones could hit the same area in a matter of time. And, to add to that, we also have the news that on Nov 23 there was an alarm for a Tsunami to hit the southern part. Thankfully, the alarm proved to be false but the panic it created also resulted in five deaths. Now, if we have fast communication system then if there is a second threat then, a lot of lives can be saved. In fact, before Sidr hit us, there was hardly any attempt to evacuate people on a mass scale. And, to make matters worse, a false alarm a few months ago regarding a Tsunami had made the people of the area so nonchalant, that when constant warnings were being given they took it to be a 'cry wolf'. But, this time, the wolf did come.
Sidr may have left a large gaping wound on the nation but to look at it from another perspective, we must say that this has left a grave warning too. And, we must act on that. From today, the government must start thinking about fast communication to any areas of natural disaster. Planes are a must as well as helicopters and all major NGO's should also keep the option of purchasing choppers open because this is a zone that is prone to natural disasters. If we don't have any mayhem in the next one-year, then we will have it the year after. This is an inevitability we must live with. The death toll is now over three thousand but the sad part is many deaths will possibly occur in the days to come due to lack of warm clothes and enough food. Maybe this is the best time for the whole nation to be galvanized into a relief effort and, if people living in the cities donate worm clothes, there is no reason why people should die of cold. Is a ward to ward warm clothes collection too impractical?
To end, we come to the lethargic entry of the political organisations into the relief scene and it's sad that when the main priority is helping people live, some are trying to have the emergency lifted. Maybe, they should, to prove their loyalty to the country, drop everything and concentrate of helping people. Sidr's warning is that, this country may experience disasters of similar or of more intensity in the future and we have to be prepared for it. Interestingly, though the country has experienced a series of tremors, the possibility of a big earthquake in the city has never been looked into carefully. Call it a premonition, but this writer feels that several cities in the country will experience earthquake today or tomorrow. But, are we prepared for it? Do the mushrooming apartments in the city have enough safety measures? Do we have a national warning system? In fact, if we start asking questions taking cities obsessed with development and high rises, then, the list will go on and on. Japan learnt her lesson from a massive earthquake a decade ago but we are taking it for granted that no such event will ever happen here.
Aren't we tempting fate? Well, let's concentrate of Sidr at the moment but, the country's main agenda in the future should be to give form to a powerful disaster response system. Maybe, in the next budget, the biggest chunk should be allotted to this sector. If the whole nation is united on it and if the present government realises its importance then disasters in the future will not leave us completely confused and shaken.