Geneva, November 15, 2007--With super cyclone Sidr already causing havoc along Bangladesh's southern coastline, CARE has dispatched teams with emergency equipment and supplies to provide immediate relief.
"The area where Sidr hit has not had a major cyclone since the 1970s," says Suman SMA Islam, CARE's humanitarian assistance coordinator in Bangladesh, "so we are concerned that the population is less prepared than in other places. We are afraid that this could be a major disaster."
Bangladesh authorities made a massive effort to move 3.2 million people in vulnerable areas to safety. In the end, they were only able to move around 600,000 people into cyclone shelters and higher ground, Both the people who were unable to move out of the path of the cyclone, and others, who have been forced to abandon their homes and sources of livelihood, will need assistance quickly, once the storm has passed.
CARE has sent five mobile water purification plants, each capable of producing 10,000 litres of fresh drinking water a day, to Khulna on Bangladesh's coast. In addition, CARE expects to be delivering emergency food rations, plastic sheeting, candles, and plastic water containers to 5,000 families, starting Friday morning. CARE is also providing 15 pumps to remove polluted salt water from areas where it is likely to cause contamination.
Five medical teams are being kept on stand-by to move to affected areas on six hours notices if needed.
Cyclone Sidr comes after months of repeated floods resulting from one of the worst monsoon seasons that Bangladesh has experienced in years. CARE provided emergency support to thousands of people during the worst part of the floods, and has been involved in helping recovery and rehabilitation efforts since then. Cyclone Sidr will put an additional burden on resources, which have already been stretched to the breaking point.
The storm, which hit the Bangladesh coastline at around 5 p.m. local time, is now expected to moving north towards Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital.
Media Contact: Kimberlee Philip +612 6279 0250 or +61 419 567 777