Trócaire has pledged an initial €100,000 for relief efforts in response to the devastation in Bangladesh caused by Cyclone "SIDR" which hit the coast of the country on Thursday evening with winds reaching 150 mph.
Trócaire is working with partner agencies Caritas Bangladesh and Uttaran on the ground and this initial funding will be used to make sure people have food, temporary shelter, drinking water and medical support.
The death toll is now over 2,000 but unofficial estimates exceed 3,000 dead with more than 5,000 injured and thousands missing. The damage to the road and telecommunication infrastructure means that many areas remain inaccessible and the full extent of the damage is not yet known. It is feared that the death toll could rise substantially. Millions of people have been left homeless. The government is able to provide shelter for around 1.5 million people leaving around 3.3 million people in the coastal areas still in need of shelter and therefore particularly vulnerable.
Many drinking water sources have been contaminated by saltwater. Crops have been totally destroyed and many mango and other fruit trees have been uprooted removing valuable sources of food and income. It is being reported that up to 250,000 animals have been killed putting further pressure on peoples livelihoods.
Trócaire's Emergency Programme leader Maurice McQuillan said, "This flooding has left millions of people in a life threatening situation. We are helping hundreds of families to survive the initial devastation. At present we are focusing on meeting immediate emergency relief needs and as a clearer picture of the extent of the devastation emerges we will help these people to start rebuilding their livelihoods."
This is one of the strongest storms to hit Bangladesh in recent memory, in a country where cyclones have wreaked havoc on lives and livelihoods in the past. Cyclones killed over half a million people in 1970 and approximately 143,000 in 1991.
Trócaire's partners had disaster preparedness programs in some of the worst affected areas and these programs together with the presence of cyclone shelters, roughly 2,000 of which have been constructed since 1991, without doubt saved many lives.
To contact Trócaire's press team:
Republic of Ireland
Meabh Jennings
Press Officer,
Trócaire.
T: +353 1 505 3238
M: 086 277 6064
Northern Ireland & UK
David O'Hare ,
Press Officer,
Trócaire.
T: 028 90 80 80 30
M: +44 7900053884