Special steps needed to overcome cyclone damages
Hitting Bangladesh at 151 km per hour and with a tidal surge of 12 to 15 ft in height, cyclone Amphan has carried out extensive devastation in the country’s southwest coastal districts. A large number of people are faced with sufferings and uncertainty. And the cyclone hit at a time when the country is struggling to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. The entire state machinery is focused on the crisis.
The tidal surge has done more harm than the cyclonic winds. Initially there was news of 10 deaths, but now the damages done to homes, homesteads, infrastructure as well as the agricultural and fisheries sectors, must be assessed.
For those who have had to take refuge in the cyclone shelters or those at home but without food and water, social and physical distancing as well as other health regulations may hardly seem a priority. But this also must be paid attention. They must be made aware. Along with water purification tablets, they must also be provided with masks and soap.
From immediate media reports it has been noted that many embankments have been damaged by the tidal surge and many settlements along the coast have been flooded. Many low lying villages are underwater, the people having to take shelter elsewhere. It is hard to ascertain how many of them have managed to find safe shelter because before the cyclone struck, the government announces that 2.4 million people had been moved to the cyclone shelters and reports show that these shelters were full at the time.
In many areas the power lines and telephone lines were severed, cutting off communications. Crops and shrimp farms have been destroyed extensively. Salinity has damaged arable land.
It is clear that the lives and livelihoods of a large number of people are at stake. It is imperative to determine the extent of damages as well as the number of affected persons as soon as possible. They must be provided assistance immediately.
As it is, like in the rest of the country, the people of the southern region have been struggling with a livelihood crisis for over one and a half months due to coronavirus. They will now need even more support and assistance after the cyclone Amphan. Emergency relief must reach them as fast as possible. Power and telephone lines must be restored on an urgent basis and other infrastructure must also be repaired immediately. The damaged embankments must be fixed as soon as possible.
Carrying out post-Amphan relief and rehabilitation and other tasks will certainly be a challenge in the prevalence of COVID-19. While carrying out relief programmes for the cyclone victims, precautions must be taken to avoid the risks of spreading coronavirus further. But for those who have had to take refuge in the cyclone shelters or those at home but without food and water, social and physical distancing as well as other health regulations may hardly seem a priority. But this also must be paid attention. They must be made aware. Along with water purification tablets, they must also be provided with masks and soap.
Giving utmost humanitarian consideration to the people hit by the cyclone Amphan, all possible measures must be taken with full urgency to address their sufferings and crisis.