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Cyclone Aila
Cyclone Aila that originated over the Bay of Bengal on May 25,
2009 caused havoc in many parts of West Bengal and Bangladesh. In West Bengal, at least 5.1 million people were displaced, with more than one
million people stranded in the Sundarban islands alone, most of them without any food or water, officials said.
Hundreds of thousands of people are stranded with no food, water and
shelter four days after cyclone Aila washed away roads and submerged villages in Bangladesh and India, aid agencies said.
In West Bengal at least 5.1 million people were displaced, with more than one
million people stranded in the Sundarban islands alone, most of them without any food or water, officials said.
West Bengal
All transit systems in the city of Kolkata were halted and daily life was at a standstill due to the
Cyclone Aila. The areas and districts affected by the cyclone in West Bengal
include East Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan, South 24 Parganas and
Kolkata.[ In the West Bengal state, more than 100,000 people were left
homeless as a result of Aila.[ At least 100 river embankments were breached
by storm surge produced by the cyclone. At least 149 people have died in the West Bengal.
The tidal surges and floods triggered by Aila have washed away roads, damaged
bridges and submerged fields. Some areas are just totally inaccessible as they are
underwater and there are simply not enough boats to get relief out to these
people who are sleeping out in the open with no shelter. Many villages in South 24 Parganas district are cut off
completely and have not seen any relief from aid agencies or local authorities.
Hundreds of people were missing in the 15 affected districts, mostly on the
coasts, where survivors desperately need food and drinking water.
There are many who are not in shelters and need help urgently. Even basic
relief like drinking water and food is not reaching all. Aid workers are also concerned that a lack of clean drinking water and poor
sanitary conditions will speed up the spread of water-borne disease.
There are already cases of diarrhoea and dysentery, and concern is mounting over a possible outbreak of cholera. |
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Sunderbans
Sundarbans
the world’s largest delta, a region which houses 265 of the endangered Bengal Tigers, was
inundated with 6.1 m (20 ft) of water. Dozens of the tigers are feared to have
drowned in Aila's storm surge along with deers and crocodiles. Only a third of the 6,000 sq. km Sunderbans delta is in India, and it is inhabited by 3.5-4 million people.
More than a fourth of the 3,500km of mud embankments built by the British at least 150 years ago collapsed
like a pack of cards when struck by 20-foot- tall tidal waves, revealing that
the state government had done little to strengthen the embankments since the British left.
The
Cyclone Aila has devastated the entire solar panel set-up in the Sunderbans island, leaving the island
completely bereft of electricity. The islands of Sunderbans at present do not have any access to grid
connectivity and solely depend on solar, biomass and renewable energy sources.
Preliminary estimates suggest that 40 per cent of the household solar power installations
have been damaged. As per WBGEDCL's estimate the quantum of damage is likely to be around Rs 50 crore.
Cyclone affected Darjeeling hills
Families, devastated by landslide triggered by cyclone Aila in Darjeeling hills, have called for immediate relief
and rehabilitation. About 100 families of the Pankhabari region in one of the worst affected areas
have been staying in relief camp. They have asked the authorities to provide them with houses at least to protect them from the vagaries of nature.
Help
West Bengal Government in co-operation with the central Govrenment took up the rescue and the rehabilitation program. Army was deployed to the affected areas.
On 26 May, the army used helicopters to provide food to the affected population. About 2,500 troops were deployed to West Bengal on 26 May 2009.
Several naval relief teams were deployed to the Sunderbans region where an
estimated 400,000 people were marooned by flooding. Roughly 100 relief camps were established in West Bengal shortly after the storm
passed. On 27 May, 400 troops form the National Disaster Response Force were deployed to the state for relief operations.
The Government of India released Indian One Crore rupees
in relief funds to the affected areas on 26 May. Two
MI-17 helicopters were also sent to air-drop food supplies to the worst affected areas in West Bengal.
UNICEF is concentrating on relief and rehabilitation efforts in three most affected blocks in West Bengal
ravaged by cyclone Aila late last month. The UN agency, along with its partners Ramakrishna Mission
Lokshiksha Parishad and 12 cluster organisations, has begun moving in pre-positioned emergency supplies to 10,000 affected families, in
the blocks of Sandeshkali-1, Sandeshkali-2 (North 24 Parganas) and Gosaba (South 24 Parganas).
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said his Left Front government was in constant touch with the
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre and stressed the need for centre-state joint effort to tackle the calamity.
Members of Parliament across the political spectrum on Tuesday appealed to the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Lok Sabha Speaker to request
members of both the Houses to donate Rs. 10 lakh each from the MPLADS Funds for relief and rehabilitation of people affected by Cyclone Aila in West Bengal. |
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Spotted dear in Sunderban |
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Bangladesh
Torrential rains from Aila resulted in at least 179 fatalities from
flooding. More than 400,000 people were reportedly isolated by severe
flooding in coastal regions of Bangladesh. Numerous villages were either completely submerged in floodwaters or destroyed.
Dozens of people are reportedly missing throughout the country. A storm surge of 3 m
high impacted western regions of Bangladesh, submerging numerous villages. Several
rivers broke through embankments, causing widespread inland flooding.. |
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