4 July 2008

The British Red Cross is providing shelter and cash grants for fishing families who lost their homes and livelihoods after the cyclone in Bangladesh last year.

When Cyclone Sidr struck on 15 November, it claimed more than 3,300 lives across the country and triggered a tidal surge that devastated three coastal towns. Around 1.5 million homes were destroyed.

The British Red Cross is working in Kuakata, a community affected by both the cyclone and the resulting tidal surge. The people of Kuakata are particularly vulnerable by virtue of their location outside the embankment, which protected other nearby villages from the waves.

Shelter

The Red Cross is supporting 650 of the most vulnerable families by relocating them to safer land and building new shelters.  As much material as possible is being bought locally, including cement, wood and tools.

The Bangladesh government has allocated land for the shelter programme and the Red Cross is working with the local authorities to map out plots for the new homes.  The Red Cross will also be implementing the infrastructure for the relocated communities, including building 30 wells and planning emergency evacuation routes.

In the meantime tarpaulins, bamboo and tool kits have been distributed to more than 1,000 families to provide protection from the monsoon rains.

Cash grants

The Red Cross is also providing families with two cash grants of 10,000 daka (£150), equivalent to two thirds of an average annual salary. The first grant is unconditional and the second combines a 'cash for work' scheme as well as money to furnish the new home and buy items that were lost. 

Gerrard Ferrie, programme manager, said: "The reality is these people lost everything, including their main source of livelihood and the money is helping them replace assets. Many of the fishermen worked as daily labourers on other people's boats but now they need to relocate up to 6km away from where they live, making a change of livelihood necessary.

"The cash is giving them options. Some have bought rickshaw vans, which are used for transporting freight such as bamboo as well as people. Others are investing in agriculture, fish farming or livestock such as goats and cows."

Preparing for disasters

Before Cyclone Sidr hit landfall, some 5,000 volunteers trained through the Bangladesh Red Crescent's cyclone preparedness programme worked through the night to alert the vulnerable. Megaphones and hand sirens were used to warn communities and evacuate them to cyclone shelters and safe places. As a result, no lives were lost in Kuakata.

Mike Goodhand, head of disaster management, said: "The British Red Cross has been supporting cyclone preparedness activities in Bangladesh for many years. More lives would have been lost if communities had been less prepared, a cyclone in 1991 of the same strength killed 140,000 people as opposed to 3,300 killed by Cyclone Sidr.

"Every donation of £1 towards our disaster preparedness programmes saves £4 in responding once a disaster occurs. In other words, investment in preparing for a crisis may prevent it ever happening."

More about Cyclone Sidr