Appeal for aid in Bangladesh after cyclone wreaks havoc
Bangladesh asked for foreign aid today to help thousands of survivors of Cyclone Sidr, as the death toll rose to more than 3,100 people.
Food, fresh water and temporary shelter had still not reached many of the survivors today.
By yesterday the official death toll stood at 3,113 after reports reached Dhaka from storm-ravaged areas that had earlier been largely cut off, said Lt Col Main Ullah Chowdhury, a spokesman for the army.
The government said international aid worth about $120m (€81.4m) has so far been promised. But relief items such as tents, rice and water have been slow to reach most survivors of the worst cyclone to hit Bangladesh in a decade.
“At this time we will welcome support from the international community,” said a statement from the Bangladesh foreign ministry. “We are doing as best as we can do ourselves.”
At Patharghata, a trading town along the Bay of Bengal, more than 100 women - many of them clad in veils – gathered today hoping to get aid.
“I’ve been waiting here for several hours hoping to get some food and drinking water,” said Safura Begum, who has three children. “But I’m not sure it will come.”
“Some biscuits and a few bottles of water are what I’ve got in the past three days,” the 45-year-old said.
Local media reports say more than 4,000 people may have been killed.
The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross, has suggested the final figure could be around 10,000.
