The people of Seke Communal Lands, like most residents of Zimbabwe and neighboring countries, are growing desperate. People scavenge for leftover food at the local boarding schools. Among the most vulnerable are the approximately 1,500 orphans and families living in Seke whose members have HIV/AIDS. (According to UNAIDS, one in four adults in Zimbabwe is said to be infected with the virus.)
In urban centers, lines for ground corn at supermarkets wind their way around whole blocks and people often wait several days before getting any corn. Although there are no reports of mass starvation yet, there have been several cases of individual deaths from starvation. It only may be a matter of time before the numbers swell. The cases of malnutrition among children under 5-years-old have risen sharply in recent months.
Children in rural schools have fainted in class after going for days without food. No one has the strength to participate in sporting activities, so many have been canceled.
April is normally harvest time in Zimbabwe, but it means little to most peasant farmers this year. Their crops barely appeared before wilting and shriveling in a land without rain for many months.
This year's drought comes hard on the heels of last year's poor harvest, when drought was followed by torrential rains that carried away topsoil. The harvest was thin then, and no additional crops are expected until April 2003.
In normal times, Zimbabwe consumes 2 million tons of corn a year. The drought this year, described as the worst in 50 years by local farmers, has reduced that amount to only 750,000 tons. The country used to export grain and their harvests were very successful. Now, inflation is at 113 percent and the government will have to depend on foreign aid to buy food imports.
To compound the problems, Zimbabwe is bereft of friends in the international community who might come to its aid. The current food crisis is largely considered self-inflicted because the government's land reform program has severely disrupted production on commercial farms. Some districts report that the government is refusing aid to members of the political opposition who challenged President Mugabe in recent elections.
Aid agencies have begun to bring in food under the World Food Program (WFP), but so far they cannot cope with the crisis. To date, the U.S. Government (USG) has provided more than $49.5 million in emergency humanitarian assistance. In past droughts in Zimbabwe, only the most vulnerable needed assistance because there were enough grain reserves for the rest. Today, there is little or no maize meal available, even for those with the money to pay for it.
A large and highly effective Oxfam partner, the Association of Women's Clubs (AWC), recently began an assessment of people's food needs, particularly of vulnerable women and children. The AWC has more than 60,000 members around the country. They have put in an initial request for 6,000 tons of maize to supplement the diets of their members' communities until October 2002. Additional funding is essential to provide food after October for what is expected to be a far larger portion of the population in need.
To arrest the crisis this year, seeds and fertilizers must also be distributed before the next planting season in October. Without these seeds, there will be no crop next April either, and the people will continue to be dependent on external aid.
Zimbabwe's food crisis could well turn into a major humanitarian disaster without international support and a willingness to separate the needs of the people from the political problems dogging the nation. Despite the government's "anti-imperialism" rhetoric, it faces a crisis of a magnitude that can only be solved through international solidarity. The current stand-off between the government of Zimbabwe and international donors should not be allowed to prevent the provision of food assistance, as it is the ordinary people who are bearing the brunt of the crisis.
]]>Amid cheers from a throng of enthusiastic supporters and international media, Make Trade Fair won the day.
Oxfam's trade campaign was launched.
Within hours of the Hong Kong debut, events were held in 25 cities including Brussels, Dublin, Geneva, Mexico City, San Salvador, and Washington, D.C. These events ranged from press conferences and symposiums to a rock concert in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Oxfam's trade campaign seeks to unite concerned citizens around the world in calling for fair trade policies that will help move millions of people out of poverty.
Nobel Prize Professor Amartya Sen, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and musician and social activist Bono were among those who endorsed the campaign. "Oxfam has got it right," said Bono. "It wouldn't cost much to change the rules of trade so that poor countries can work their way out of poverty. But the world's leaders won't act unless they hear enough people telling them."
Also in this issue of EXCHANGE, writers Frances and Anna Lappé discuss their book Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet, and we bring you updates on Oxfam's work with water and sanitation, drought in Ethiopia, and indigenous women in the highlands of Peru who are speaking out after decades of violence.
]]>?Oxfam?s experience is that aid air drops can help but are hugely expensive and very limited in what they can deliver,? said Michael Delaney, director of humanitarian response for Oxfam America.
Air dropping aid does not guarantee that food and other relief supplies will reach the people most in need. In many cases it is the strongest and fittest who get to the aid first, and not the sick or injured who most need help and assistance. In a natural disaster such as Cyclone Nargis or conflict like Darfur it?s not only food that is needed but also sophisticated equipment such as clean water and sanitation systems weighing tons as well as highly skilled staff to operate them, all of which cannot be dropped from the sky.
?If there isn?t an aid operation on the ground to distribute the aid, the air drops can exacerbate any tense relations within communities with only the fittest and fastest benefiting,? said Delaney.
?At best aid air drops can only be a partial solution, at worst they give the illusion that somehow we are addressing this ever-worsening humanitarian crisis. The biggest risk is that aid air drops will be a distraction from what is really needed ? a highly effective aid operation on the ground. The highest diplomatic effort is still required to ensure that aid and aid experts are allowed into Myanmar to help save lives,? added Delaney.
In any humanitarian response, including in Myanmar today, what?s always needed more than air drops is a well coordinated and widespread aid operation on the ground. The humanitarian relief operation mounted in Aceh after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is a text book case of what?s required following a major humanitarian catastrophe. Within days of the tsunami relief flights carrying equipment and relief personnel were permitted to land to assist those affected by the disaster.
?There can be no substitute for an aid operation on the ground. It?s the best way to save lives and to ensure aid is targeted at the most vulnerable people,? said Delaney.
And that is the quandary in cyclone-affected parts of Myanmar today. Should aid be parachuted in or should agencies such as Oxfam alongside local partners be allowed to operate on the ground? Oxfam wants to be allowed to operate in Myanmar because it has years of experience responding to natural and man-made disasters around the world.
?We support a call for international aid agencies such as Oxfam to be permitted to work in cyclone-affected parts of Myanmar,? said Delaney. ?We have the experience and expertise to save lives and we?d obviously welcome a chance to play our part assisting the millions of people affected by this natural disasters.?
In readiness to respond Oxfam has pre-positioned relief supplies as well as aid workers in the region. In total Oxfam has nearly 90 highly-trained experienced disaster response specialists including logisticians, water engineers and public health experts on standby and ready to leave at a moment?s notice.
]]>A lack of clean water and sanitation in crowded camps for displaced people in the Indian state of Bihar is threatening the lives of thousands of women, men and children.
More than one million people have sought refuge in over 150 relief camps after floods swept away their homes. Search and rescue operations are trying to reach thousands of women, men and children still stranded by floodwaters and urgently in need of relocation and assistance.
?Women and children are bearing the brunt of the disaster, whether huddled in cramped camps or exposed to heat and the rains under the open sky. Thousands of people are without safe water and are having to defecate in floodwaters. There is a serious risk of diseases breaking out,? said Mani Kumar, coordinating Oxfam?s response in Bihar.
?Hygiene and sanitation facilities are urgently needed to prevent the spread of a water-borne epidemic. More food and shelter is also needed immediately,? added Kumar.
Working with local partner organizations, Oxfam is using motorboats to rescue stranded men, women and children and is distributing tarpaulin shelter sheets, water purification kits, buckets and oral rehydration sachets for 100,000 people in camps in Supaul, the worst affected district of Bihar.
The floods were caused when heavy rains led to a 2km-breach in the Bhimnagar barrage—designed to control floods—on the River Koshi near the India-Nepal border on 18 August.
Oxfam has been working in India since 1951 to alleviate poverty and suffering as well as helping communities facing disaster risks to become more resilient.
]]>A team of aid workers are traveling to Wenchuan County in Sichuan?the quake?s epicenter?from their base in Kunming, Yunnan province. They will assess the damage and coordinate emergency relief work.
?This is the biggest earthquake in China for decades. Oxfam staff are now in contact with local government agencies and other partners in the affected areas and preparing for emergency response work,? said Lum Kwok Choi of Oxfam Hong Kong. ?Our initial assessment is that survivors of the earthquake are in need of clean water, food, medicine, clothing and blankets. Oxfam Hong Kong is urgently appealing for donations from the public. In the longer-term, it is clear that rehabilitation and reconstruction will be massive tasks.?
Oxfam Hong Kong operates community development projects in Gansu Province which has also been affected, and is most likely to do emergency work in Wen County, which was seriously hit.
]]>One of the Oxfam aid workers who will join the team is Khalid Gill who was in the nearby city of Quetta when the earthquake struck?first as a smaller tremor, followed by a larger one. ?The first one woke us up at 4:30. It was not all that big a tremor but we all quickly got out of the house and into the street. It only lasted a minute or so,? said Gill. ?After a while we went back into the house even though we knew that there might be an aftershock. Then at 5:15 there was a really big tremor. The house was shaking so much so that the door became jammed. We eventually got out of the house. It was really scary and bitterly cold. Everything was shaking for several minutes.?
Despite being in a sparsely populated area, an estimated 2,500 to 3,500 people are reported to be affected. Access to the area is difficult in normal circumstances: It sits at approximately 7,874 feet above sea level. There are reports of at least 130 people killed and hundreds of homes damaged or flattened. It is believed that there are still people trapped and these figures may rise. Many were injured due to the collapse of poorly built mud and stonewall houses.
The most affected district is Ziarat. Union Council Kawash and Vortune are the other two most affected areas.
An emergency has been declared in the provincial hospitals where scores of people are being treated.
Pakistan army contingents with two helicopters have reached the earthquake-hit areas and are taking part in rescue operations. Medical teams have also rushed to the affected areas.
In Quetta, Oxfam has already identified suppliers of soap, buckets, plastic sheets, kitchen sets and food?all of which are needed for the relief effort.
To support the people of Pakistan, please consider making a contribution to Oxfam America?s Global Emergencies Fund.
]]>In a report published today, Barbara Stocking, the chair of the Oxfam International Tsunami Fund Board, said: ?What has been achieved is astounding. Hundreds of thousands of people are now living in better conditions than they were in before the tsunami thanks to the generous support we received from the public, the hard work of our staff and local partners and the resilience of the affected communities to rebuild their lives.?
Oxfam received $294 million in donations to help affected people—more than 90 per cent of it from the public. The sum was used in Indonesia for instance where Oxfam was the first international agency to provide housing to tsunami survivors in Aceh, going on to build 1,566 permanent houses. In Sri Lanka, the international aid agency helped to restore the livelihoods of almost 170,000 people. Oxfam also funded, among other projects, the reconstruction of eight tsunami-affected secondary schools serving around 6,000 students each year. In India, Oxfam helped to restore the livelihoods of 660,000 people and create structures to allow them to save money.
?The money we received allowed us not only to help meet the immediate emergency needs of tsunami-affected populations, but also to try to address the factors that made them vulnerable: not least poverty and a lack of influence over their own lives,? Stocking said.
The activities of Oxfam and its partners ranged from the provision of emergency clean water and sanitation to people displaced by the disaster; improving the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of poor and displaced people, especially women; and the construction of permanent houses to better protect communities against future disasters.
?The tangible results, such as the new houses and fishing boats, are only one marker of progress,? Stocking said. ?The less visible interventions are just as important. We have helped to give people better access to markets for their goods. We have helped them gain the knowledge they need to protect themselves against future disasters and the confidence to demand a say in decisions that affect them.?
Oxfam hopes that the world?s generous and speedy response to the devastation wrought by the tsunami will be regarded as landmark and will continue to improve the coordination between international agencies. Oxfam has extracted many lessons from the tsunami response, which have already been applied in subsequent disasters.
]]>?A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Myanmar and the threat of a second wave of death must drive discussions on Sunday towards cooperation, compromise, and creative responses to getting more aid into the Irrawaddy Delta,? said Sara Ireland, Oxfam?s regional director for East Asia, Sarah Ireland.
?Some aid is getting through and there are signs that more will be delivered but not in enough quantity and not quickly enough. The aid bridge that ASEAN has begun to create into Myanmar must rapidly become a highway wide enough to meet the needs of the people in the hardest hit areas,? she said.
After weeks of uncertainty about how to get access to assist those affected by Cyclone Nargis, ASEAN on Monday announced that it would lead a coordinating mechanism that would work closely with the UN to get more aid into Myanmar.
?The ASEAN initiative is a real chance to begin the turnaround for the people of Myanmar. The donor community must also seize this opportunity and fully support it,? Ireland said.
?This is going to be a long haul and a massive aid effort will be needed as part of the ASEAN mechanism and the international aid community, which includes aid workers and agencies from many countries around the world, will need to support and assist in this effort with technical expertise, experience and skills.?
Ireland said that while aid has reached some people in the delta region, major gaps remain in the level and speed of the response?particularly in crucial areas of clean water, shelter, emergency food, and medical supplies.
According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 500,000 people lost their homes in the cyclone. According to the UN, only 150,000 were in government or other shelters. This needs to be addressed urgently, Oxfam said.
The agency said with only 250,000 of 750,000 people in need of urgent food reached with a two-week ration of rice, food aid was vital according to the UN World Food Program. According to nutrition research by Save the Children, 30,000 children in the delta are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and will die by the first week of June unless this food gap is filled.
With the fast-approaching monsoon season and the end of the planting season in five to seven weeks, prompt action is necessary if further unnecessary suffering is to be avoided.
Oxfam said while ASEAN was working to resolve issues around access into the country it was vital that donors and aid agencies worked to help ensure access within the country to the hardest hit areas, particularly along the waterways and the dirt roads that have been all but washed away.
Given their experience in responding to disasters such as the 2004 tsunami and Pakistan earthquake in 2005, Oxfam said its staff members and their skills could play a significant role in supporting ASEAN.
In Myanmar, people?s resistance to disease is weakened daily because of lack of food and shelter, exposure to the elements, and drinking surface water that is likely to be contaminated with human and animal waste. This creates a breeding ground for diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
With people exposed to the elements, huddled together in crowded areas and suffering from hunger other risks such as measles, chest infections, pneumonia and diphtheria could devastate already weakened people, especially the very young and weak.
?As representatives from rich world governments meet this weekend they must harness ASEAN's task force and offer it financial and skilled support so that there are no further delays in getting help to those people who so desperately need it,? Ireland said.
]]>The agency called on all donors to respond generously to the worsening crisis as, according to the UN, the total aid effort is currently under-funded to the tune of $260m.
The revised numbers of those needing emergency assistance is likely to be a conservative estimate and does not include the 7.2 million Ethiopians so chronically poor that they receive cash or food aid from the government every year.
?Today?s figures, terrible as they are, show only half the picture. Over 13.5 million Ethiopians are in need of aid in order to survive. The number of those suffering severe hunger and destitution has spiralled. More can and must be done now to save lives and avert disaster,? said Oxfam?s country director, Waleed Rauf.
"Compared with the funds going to shore up the global financial system the aid needed to save lives in Ethiopia is a drop in the ocean. The events of recent weeks clearly demonstrate that ? with the right kind of political will and ambition - action is possible in the face of urgent needs. We need donors to demonstrate that same kind of urgency when responding to acute hunger and underlying vulnerabilities in places like Ethiopia," added Rauf.
Oxfam is particularly concerned about the situation for pastoralist communities in Afar and Somali regions. In northern areas the recent minor rains season was patchy and many people will remain dependent on aid until March next year when the next rains are expected. Further south, if the October/November rains are poor people there will have to hold out until next July.
Numbers in need of help in the Somali region has doubled to nearly two million people since June. Those in need also face huge problems due to loss of their livestock with an average loss of 60 percent of cattle, 50 percent of goats and 40 percent of camels.
In July the UN?s World Food Programme (WFP) had to reduce monthly cereal rations from 15kgs a person to 10kgs. WFP has only received one third of the funds it needs and has an immediate shortfall of 229,587 tonnes food for the next six months. The UN agency fears the impact of this will include increased malnutrition.
?A number of donor countries have already made substantial contributions to the humanitarian response in Ethiopia since the beginning of this year. This has helped to save people?s lives, but now that the needs are increasing all donors must provide additional money,? said Rauf.
]]>The new aid comes after Oxfam distributed 350,000 litres of potable water in urban-affected areas last week, along with 2,500 blankets among rural families, helping to ease the suffering during the unusually cold winter.
On Tuesday, Oxfam began installing 20 water tanks, which will provide clean and safe water for the first 1,500 people in the countryside, all who live in the rural districts of Humay and Independencia. Oxfam is providing a cistern truck to fill the tanks for a total of 19,000 litres of water every day.
“Our main concern right now is clean water and sanitation because these are absolutely crucial to prevent outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Now, the people of Humay and Independencia, who actually helped us install the tanks with their own hands, are accessing water that is even cleaner than what they had before the earthquake. In the coming weeks we will provide them with training so they can keep the water clean for weeks and months to come,” said Jacobo Ocharán, Oxfam’s emergency response manager.
In the rural districts of Humay and Independencia, located 30 and 12 km outside of Pisco respectively, Oxfam is meeting basic shelter needs while striving to minimize disruptions to the communities. Many of the destroyed homes in these districts are situated on pieces of land with enough space to safely erect a family’s tent. The remaining families are setting up shelters in small camps of 10 to 40 tents in open areas close to their original houses. By providing temporary shelter for individual families, Oxfam’s work will allow inhabitants to remain on their land.
“We are trying to place these tents in familiar settings close to people’s homes to help residents feel less vulnerable. Also, it makes the reconstruction of their homes easier, which is important because we don’t want the temporary shelters to become permanent homes,” said Ocharán.
There have been great improvements in the distribution of aid in the two weeks that have passed since the earthquake struck; however, much work remains to be done. Oxfam is working closely with the international aid community and the government, including local authorities and state institutions, to ensure that aid is being distributed to those who need it most.
“Oxfam field staff are helping local authorities and leaders to assess the damage and the needs of the families affected by the earthquake. This is the only way of ensuring that aid is distributed to the people who really need it, and that it is distributed in an equal and fair way,” said Ocharán. “We’re also trying to continue strengthening residents’ participation in helping provide relief and rehabilitation in their own communities. We know from past experience that when communities are well organized and involved, relief efforts and reconstruction are more likely to succeed.”
]]>Oxfam staff will evaluate the humanitarian needs, including water and health systems, and will consult with the Red Cross and Peruvian Government humanitarian response unit. Oxfam will then offer the appropriate level of humanitarian support.
Celia Aldana, spokesperson for Oxfam International in Peru said: "We are going to focus on the southern areas which are the most affected. It is really hard to tell what the full affect is, as communications are very patchy and many areas are cut off by landslides and collapsed bridges. The local media are reporting that many people are arriving in the cities from the countryside seeking help."
"I have lived through four earthquakes and can remember three of them but this has been the worst of all. The tremors lasted for minutes and were terrible. However, despite this, the damage in Lima doesn't at the moment appear to be too bad. The damage in the south is much worse"
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Statement from Oxfam America's Francisco Boeren, Deputy Director of Oxfam America's South America Regional Office in Lima.
LIMA — As aftershocks continued to hit the south of Peru, international aid agency Oxfam has arrived in the epicenter of the crisis to assess its emergency response, which will aim to provide urgent relief such as clean water for city-dwellers displaced by the earthquake and for those who are caught in remote rural areas.
Oxfam's humanitarian officer in Peru, Sergio Alvarez, today traveled to the worst hit zone, including the city of Pisco and the surrounding rural areas—which he reached on foot—and carried out an initial assessment of the devastation. More Oxfam staff including a water engineer will travel this afternoon to Pisco, a city of nearly 120,000 inhabitants. Some 665,000 people live in the wider affected region.
Alvarez said: "It is impossible to get to Pisco from Lima. The San Clemente Bridge that links Pisco with the Pan American highway has collapsed.
"All the adobe buildings in Pisco have collapsed. The modern buildings are fine. The Peruvian Civil Defense has told me that they calculate that at least 50% of the houses in Pisco have collapsed. San Andres, in Cañete, has also suffered a great amount of destruction.
"There are people trapped in their houses, and Pisco's San Clemente church collapsed while mass was underway. The news I'm receiving is that there are many dead bodies. Rescue operations are now underway but fire trucks and other rescue vehicles coming from Lima weren't able to reach the area until 11 am this morning due to the collapsed bridge. They were stuck about one and a half hours away from Pisco but are now in the area and have so far rescued six people trapped under rubble.
"Local authorities are asking for help, particularly with the distribution of medicines, tents and blankets, as many people have lost their homes. The distribution of tents has yet to be organized and there is no electricity or running water in the area. The situation is desperate, especially for those people who survived but who have lost their homes.
"Oxfam is especially worried about people in the rural areas because their houses are extremely vulnerable and they are harder to reach."
Oxfam works with partners in the area affected by the earthquake. In 2001, Oxfam responded to the earthquake in Arequipa, providing water and shelters.
The poorest areas are the ones that consistently suffer the most during and after a natural disaster. In Peru, more than 72% of those in rural areas are living below the poverty line. 49% of the general population lives below the poverty line and almost 32% of the population lives on less than $2 per day.
]]>Heavy rains are forecast to continue in the region this week, threatening to worsen the situation of up to 285,000 people living in vulnerable areas.
Oxfam will provide 14 tons of water, sanitation and hygiene equipment.
A plane will leave the East Midlands airport in the UK at 12 noon on Thursday 15 February and is expected to arrive in Beira, in Mozambique, on Friday, with enough equipment to provide for the needs of 25 000 people. Water pumps, water containers, pipes, water treatment chemicals, jerry cans for water collection, buckets, 1,000 bed nets and 2,000 hygiene kits will be on board.
“As flood levels keep rising our main concern is the lack of clean water and sanitation facilities in many of the evacuation centres where up to 70,000 people are taking shelter. In these conditions the threat of diarrhoea, malaria and cholera needs to be addressed immediately,” explained Fabio Fussi, head of Oxfam’s humanitarian response in Mozambique.
The floods along the river Zambezi have cut off many communities, making access difficult for government and humanitarian agencies. The most affected areas are the provinces of Tete, Sofala, Manica and Zambezia. Oxfam teams are now in Caia (6,500 displaced people) ready to start the installation of emergency water systems and sanitation facilities as soon as possible.
"There are 1,900 people living in this camp in very basic conditions. They are mainly women and children, who were evacuated by boat and couldn’t take much with them,” said Caroline Hooper Box, an Oxfam aid worker in the Chupanga evacuation camp.
“Many men have stayed behind to look after the livestock, but crops may be more difficult to save” Hooper Box added. “The maize fields we saw while driving here are flooded. We could only see the heads of the maize sticking out of the water.”
]]>Altogether 20 million people in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal have been affected by flooding in the current monsoon, forcing many from their homes.
"Across the region people are struggling to cope with what is for many the worst flooding in living memory,” said Ashvin Dayal, head of Oxfam in South Asia. “Millions of the very poorest have lost their homes, their possessions, and their livelihoods. Thanks to good preparation we have responded quickly and saved lives, but people desperately need our help to get back on their feet again.”
Last week, Oxfam and its partners in Bihar, northern India, managed to rescue stranded villagers using 20 small boats they had ready as part of their disaster contingency plan for the flood-prone area. The groups have also tapped their emergency stocks to provide essential household items and temporary shelter for displaced people.
Oxfam has been working on village-level flood preparedness with local authorities in all the three countries. In Nepal, for instance, preparedness has meant that people’s raised homesteads have not been flooded and their raised drinking water sources, such as tube-wells, are still safe. This is true for many prepared villagers in Bangladesh and India too.
"These floods show how important it is for governments and the international community to be prepared for when disasters strike,” said Dayal. “Today we are providing emergency aid for those who have lost everything. In the long term we must work with local authorities to help vulnerable people in the flood-prone areas of India, Bangladesh, and Nepal to cope with increasingly erratic and unpredictable weather."
Oxfam is currently responding to this and more than 30 other emergencies around the world. To make it possible for Oxfam to respond to emergencies and work to overcome poverty and suffering, you can make a donation to our Global Emergencies Fund.
]]>According to initial reports, there has been massive destruction of homes, crops, and livestock, although the death toll was low. Power and communications have been totally disrupted by the cyclone, which swept up from the Bay of Bengal on the evening of November 15th with wind speeds of up to 150 mph.
Before the cyclone struck, around 1,000 volunteers from Oxfam’s Bangladeshi partner organizations helped to evacuate villagers.
Today, Oxfam is coordinating and sharing information with the Bangladeshi government. The aid agency has two teams assessing the damage caused by the cyclone, which is the largest to hit Bangladesh since 1991, when a cyclone killed 138,000 people.
Heather Blackwell, Head of Oxfam International in Bangladesh, said, “Many of Bangladesh’s poorest people live on sandbanks in the river delta, which can be easily flooded by tidal surges. A cyclone this strong can literally wash away the sandbanks and mainland areas, forcing families to abandon their homes, livestock and crops. The storm is so strong that many of those living farther inland could also be seriously affected.
“Working through local Bangladeshi organizations, we have sent hundreds of volunteers around the affected districts to warn and evacuate people.
“Over the last few years we have helped hundreds of villages to prepare for floods and tropical storms. Simple measures, such as having an evacuation plan and giving enough warning of approaching storms, can really save lives.
“The Bangladeshi government has also been proactive in issuing early warnings and evacuating coastal areas, and we are working closely with them on the relief effort.”
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