Tornadoes Leave Thousands Homeless in Bangladesh

[senorpepr]

DHAKA, Apr 19 (OneWorld) - Twin tornadoes in northeast Bangladesh have left a trail of destruction in 40 villages, leaving around 4,000 destitute families to sleep under the open sky and survive on one meal a day.

The tornadoes hit the districts of Netrakona and Mymensingh last week, killing at least 78 people and injuring over 700.

The nightmarish winds also blew away another two dozen people, uprooted a number of trees and damaged over 7,000 houses, crops and livestock.

The bereaved are still scouring ponds and nearby woods in search of their loved ones.

But so far relief efforts cannot keep pace with the swelling demand. The army, which was deployed for relief operations, has distributed just 100 tents among the victims, leaving thousands stranded.

Ditto with efforts by nongovernmental organizations and the Red Crescent Society.

After a visit by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and opposition leader Sheikh Hasina to certain tornado-hit areas, they received food, clothes and other relief materials. But as district authorities have not drawn up a comprehensive list of victims, many victims still lie in wait.

Protests college lecturer Iqbal Ahmed, who lost his sister-in-law in Netrakona, 128 kilometers north of the capital Dhaka, "Nobody came to our area or the nearby villages and we did not get any relief."

Relief operations in villages here remain hopelessly inadequate, with starving people now afflicted by waterborne diseases like diarrhea.

In Netrakona, 18 medical teams of the Netrakona General Hospital are battling to treat patients amid an acute shortage of medicines.

About 500 injured people were admitted to this hospital after the storm on Wednesday, with at least two to three succumbing to their injuries at the hospital daily.

Jamila Khatun of Kanchanpur village in Netrokona, and her grand daughter are her family's only survivors. Weeps the 60-year-old, "The storm killed my daughter, son and wife. Our house is damaged, and we have been on a once-a-day meal of dry food for the last few days."

Exclaims villager Abdur Rahim, 60, "I have never ever seen such a monster twister rumble through our village."

The agriculture ministry estimates the Netrakona tornado has damaged 20 percent of crops and uprooted 11,000 fruit trees, while the tornado in neighboring Haluaghat destroyed 40 acres of watermelons and ruined the summer vegetable crop.

Similarly, in Mymensingh, 90 kilometers north of Dhaka, the storm-hit people are facing an acute crisis of food and shelter. Villagers say the relief, which includes cash, clothes and dry food, is minimal.

Many indigenous families in the northeast are now homeless. "We don't know what we are going to do if there is another storm here," wails flood victim Profulla Barman, who lost all his three houses.

Mymensingh parliamentarian Pramod Mankin admits relief operations are tardy. "The relief operations began mainly from Sunday, but they have since given only limited food and housing supplies," he claims.

Quips Minister for Relief and Disaster Management Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf, "This is the nor'wester season. We cannot prevent such disasters but can certainly rehabilitate the victims. We have already taken measures to address the crisis."

The minister informs that the government has decided to provide the victims interest-free loans worth half a million US dollars. Besides, they will be given 1,350 bundles of tin to reconstruct their shanties, 400 tons of rice and other relief materials.

Nor'wester winds are common during the summer months of April-May, and herald the Bangla New Year, but they are usually not so lethal.

[Rainband]

seems like nadoes are causing havoc all over the world.