New Delhi: Rescuers in Bangladesh face a logistical nightmare in the wake of cyclone Sidr. Downed cell phone towers and power lines are hampering rescue efforts. The government says at least 500 people were killed but a much, much higher - toll is expected.
Southern Bangladesh has been utterly devastated by cyclone Sidr. Towns and villages have been torn apart by ferocious winds which reached 240 km or 150 miles an hour.
An endless field of debris peppered with clusters of survivors. Emergency services have been overwhelmed, trying to clear thousands of fallen trees and free survivors like this man pinned under the rubble.
Many though made it to cyclone shelters where they spent a terrifying night as the rain lashed down outside.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes says, “The World Food program is already sending food rations for up to 400,000 people badly affected by this cyclone. I think the main needs are those in the areas of food, and healthcare, and shelter."
The storm surge of 15-feet or five meters has also wreaked havoc. Huge waves pounded the coast, much of which is low-lying and vulnerable to flooding and now the race is on to get to those left stranded.
This drowned landscape should be lush green with the rice harvest but it, like everything else, has been lost, the survivors barely clinging to life.
Large parts of the country are in darkness. The entire national grid has been knocked out by Cyclone Sidr, hampering the rescue effort. The bottom line is that huge areas simply haven't been heard from yet.
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