8 years of Cyclone Sidr
Some areas recover, others still struggle
Our Correspondent
Coastal people in Bangladesh have lived with natural calamities like tidal waves, cyclone and flooding and the threat of rising sea level for decades. They have learned to fight against these disasters and protect themselves.
As a result, the world has praised the capability of Bangladeshi people to fight for survival and prove time after time that they will never be defeated by the brutality of natural calamities.
The people of the coastal districts of Bhola, Patuakhali, Barguna and Shatkhira lived up to this reputation of struggle and survival when hit by Cyclone Sidr that swept through the counrys southern coast eight years ago.
On the night of November 15, 2007, the powerful cyclonic storm lashed the coastal districts with 160-180 km/h winds. Thousands of people in the area were affected by a tidal surge that inundated coastal villages by breaching through flood protection embankments.
About 3,500 people died, a huge number livestock drowned, vast areas of standing crops were damaged and thousands of trees were uprooted.
However, the loss of human life was relatively less due to measures taken by the authorities, including advance warning about the impending foul weather and evacuation of people from isolated char areas to nearby cyclone shelters before the cyclone struck.
Sidr attracted the worlds attention and massive relief operations were carried out by foreign governments and aid agencies. Millions dollars were sanctioned for rehabilitation of the affected people.
According to Bhola district land department, 10 cluster villages in four upazilas were constructed to provide housing to 330,000 destitute families in 2010. Besides, 30 new cyclone shelters were built.
Our correspondent from Patuakhali adds: After eight years of the super cyclone Sidr, people of the southern district have not fully recovered their losses. Many families lost their livelihoods and they are yet to get back on their feet again. Besides, a large number of people who lost their homes are still living in makeshift shelters on river embankments in the district.
Fishermen Moslem, 45 and Motaleb, 55, who have been living on an embankment in Kuakata, said Sidr washed away all their belongings at Kuakata Adarsha Gram.
Sharvanu, 45, a female day labourer from Char Nazir village in Kalapara upazila, cried while talking to this correspondent about the Sidr tragedy. She lost her only son, two-year-old Riaz, in the cyclone.
Just before the storm hit, my husband was carrying Riaz and we were on our way to a cyclone shelter. Suddenly, a surge of tidal water swept my husband and child away. My husband managed to survive. But after two days, I found our childs body near the Ramnabad riverbank, Sharvanu said.
At least 677 people died in the coastal areas of Kalapara, Golachipa, Mirzaganj, Dumki, Dashmina, Bauphal and Patuakhali during Sidr. About 55,000 houses were damaged and 900 kilometres of flood embankment were washed away. An uncountable number of livestock, fish resources and crops were also lost. People in Sidr-hit areas claimed that they could not avoid losses due to vulnerable flood protection embankments.
Md Abul Khaer Bhuiyan, executive engineer of BWDB, Kalapara division, said: We have almost completed repairing the flood control embankment. The rest of the works will be completed after getting more funds.
Meanwhile, environment experts recommend building 12-15 feet high embankments, more cyclone shelters and planting trees along the coast to protect coastal residents from future calamities.
