Cyclone horror haunts Bangladesh

By Mark Dummett
BBC News, Southkhali

Southkhali has yet to recover from the damage wrought by last year's storm

Before Cyclone Nargis veered eastwards and smashed into Burma, the people living in the Bangladeshi village of Southkhali thought it was heading their way.

It brought back terrible memories.

Six months ago, they suffered from the direct hit of another one of the Bay of Bengal's tropical storms.

Across the country, the high-speed winds and tidal wave of Cyclone Sidr killed more than 3,500 people and affected millions.

In Southkhali, homes were flattened and at least 300 people died.

"When we felt the wind [from Cyclone Nargis], and saw the movement of the clouds, my grandchildren became so afraid they started crying," said Moqbul Hossein, fighting back tears.

"Whenever we think a storm is coming, we think of Sidr, and are afraid that next time no-one will survive."

'We were lucky'

Bangladesh has a fairly effective early-warning system in place.

So while Nargis was still churning in the middle of the Bay, all of its coastal districts were alerted.

Unlike the unfortunate people of Burma's Irrawaddy delta, Moqbul Hossein was able to take his family to the village's cyclone shelter - a primary school built on large concrete stilts.

It is also where they were able to see out Cyclone Sidr in safety.

Some of my family did survive, but only by tying themselves to trees Moqbul Hossein

Hundreds of these shelters dot Bangladesh's coastline.

"There were 400 of us crammed into this classroom that day," he remembered.

"We were so lucky to be up here. When Cyclone Sidr hit the village, it washed away people who stayed outside. Some of my family did survive, but only by tying themselves to trees."

Immediately after the storm, Bangladesh's army led a huge multinational rescue effort.

Getting a visa was no problem for the aid workers and journalists who came here from around the world.

The US Navy deployed two warships, and $500m (£258m) was pledged within the first two weeks.

But six months on, the rebuilding of Southkhali, reckoned to be the worst-hit of all the affected villages, has a long way to go.

The debris I saw in November has been cleaned up, but people are still living in shelters made from blue plastic, palm fronds and battered metal sheets, bent over simple wooden frames.

They are terribly cramped and uncomfortable, and offer little protection from the wind and rain.

The monsoon is only weeks away, and there is always the possibility that another cyclone might come too.

More needed

"I don't know how my children are going to survive this monsoon, there are so many holes in the roof," said Razia, a mother of three.

She and her extended family of about 30 people live squeezed together in five shelters and a tent, which has a large British flag printed on the side.

At the entrance to their small compound is a graveyard where five family members, including two of Razia's children, are buried.

Many cyclone survivors are still living in makeshift homes

All were washed away by the storm six months ago.

"We received rice, lentils, salt and some other things. The government also gave us 5,000 taka ($80, £40) to rebuild our houses, but its just not enough," she said.

The aid agencies agree.

Last month, they warned that the scale of the destruction was too great for them to deal with.

"The combined efforts of all aid agencies... and government pledges for core housing are likely to reach around 60,000 affected families, but this is only a fraction of those who need help," said Graham Saunders of the International Federation of the Red Cross.

"More than 260,000 extremely vulnerable families are currently not getting any assistance to rebuild their homes," he said.

It is clear, though, that the victims of Cyclone Sidr have been looked after much better than those of Nargis.

But the damage wrought by these storms is so great, and the communities already so poor, that a full recovery will take years - so long as another cyclone does not strike first.