‘November 16 represents tragedy for Bangladesh’ i was told by a well dressed man who claimed to have walked since dawn from Barisal; it was now around 3pm and we are stuck between a traffic jam of monumental proportions or heading back against the fallen trees and the thousands returning to their homes after evacuating less than 24 hours before. He was refering to both past and present.
Super Cyclone Sidr had come ashore. At current count, over 1,000 are dead without the worst areas being reached by rescue workers and NGOs. Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and much of the country is without power or communications for at least the next three days. The total toll to the economy cannot even be comprehended yet.
Much work will be done over the next few days and the full extent of the damage done by this awesome display of energy will be better known. What is known now however, is that, unlike many years ago in November, Bangladesh was better prepared. Over 130,000 died during the last such storm.
Stay tuned for more updates and slideshows.
Search Site
Catagories
Sites of interest