A tidal surge in the Bay of Bengal is wreaking
damage on the coastal communities along the Bay of Bengal, rendering 35,000
people homeless and several dead, many of them children.
Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone
countries in the world said Catherine Mahoney, British Red Cross, But that
doesn't mean we should become complacent to the effects of these annual
monsoons. Every year the rains erode the banks more and more. Families
living on these banks can go to bed one day and get literally washed away
in the night.
Over the weekend, some 13,000 people sought refuge in Red Cross cyclone shelters. Some 1,841 of these huge building have been constructed up the coastal areas and islands in the vulnerable areas. The British Red Cross, through public funding and lottery money, helped build these life-saving shelters as part of a disaster preparedness programme that has seen the number of lives taken reduced from 138,000 in 1991, to just over a hundred last year. However, to be able to help all those affected by these increasing disasters, many more shelters must be built.
The main problem now is river erosion. "This year's monsoon is increasingly cruel each day," says Bob McKerrow, head of delegation. "The severe river erosion is stealing cultivated fields and devouring homes. Now these coastal communities face loss of lives as well as livelihoods - many people are living in terrible conditions, or out in the open - and have no access to food or safe drinking water.
An appeal is still ongoing for Bangladesh, which still desperately need funds. Bob McKerrow returns today from assessing the area by seaplane and is available for interview.