Bangladesh: A lesson in saving lives
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Based on an article by Raphael Palma, Communications, WV Bangladesh On 15 Nov 2007 Cyclone Sidr touched down on the southern coastline of Bangladesh. According to government reports, that night 3,939 people lost their lives, 880 were listed as missing and another 39,756 were injured. However in Mongla, where World Vision runs an Area Development Programme (ADP) with an intensive focus on disaster preparedness, not a single death was recorded – a clear indication that the effort put into activities such as awareness campaigns, disaster drills and evacuation exercises, constructing cyclone shelters and conducting leadership training, does finally save lives. In fact, each year a significant part of Bangladesh wades in water. Depressions form over the Bay of Bengal and the fury of the storms are repeatedly felt most by low-lying costal communities. Cyclone Sidr started off as a tropical depression and intensified into a Category 4 storm with winds reaching up to 240 kilometres per hour. Two days before the storm, as the Meteorological Office in Bangladesh announced danger signal number 5, the early warning system in World Vision’s Mongla ADP was immediately put into action. Ibrahim Hossain, the ADP’s Disaster Management Officer began communicating with trained volunteers and disaster management committees about the incoming cyclone and soon the entire community was mobilised. Over the previous years, Ibrahim had worked to build awareness on disaster preparedness in the community by conducting trainings, seminars and workshops for students, teachers, volunteers and community based organisations. He also helped prepare risk and resource maps, and worked with the community to hold cyclone simulations so that people could easily identify the safe shelter areas. The preparation paid off. As Cyclone Sidr continued its approach, trained staff and volunteers in coordination with local government officers spread the early warning alerts with the help of loudspeakers. At 8.00 pm on 14 Nov 2007, as the Meteorological Office declared the highest possible danger signal 10, Ibrahim, together with many World Vision staff and volunteers, spent a sleepless night evacuating people. Together they concentrated on bringing the most vulnerable – women, children and elderly – into one of the 33 local cyclone shelters. As Sidr hit Mongla along with other parts of the southern coastal area, hundreds of houses collapsed and enormous trees were broken, or simply uprooted. In the aftermath of the disaster World Vision responded by distributing survival kits, temporary shelter material, water purifying units, setting up “child friendly spaces” and initiating a livelihood recovery programme, in all benefitting 1.3 million Bangladeshis. However for the people of Mongla, the most important thing was that no one lost their lives that night. “This only happened because people got the message on time and went to the cyclone shelters with the volunteers’ help,” says Ibrahim Hossain. “It has proved that good preparedness can save human lives.” World Vision’s report Planet Prepare warns that climate change and resulting natural disasters are inevitable, and highlights opportunities to empower and protect those communities most vulnerable. |
