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UN:
POST-CYCLONE SITUATION IN BANGLADESH MUCH WORSE THAN UNDERSTOOD - UN
AGENCIES: 03/12/2007 (MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 03 December 2007 --The
humanitarian situation in Bangladesh in the wake of last month’s devastating
Cyclone Sidr is much worse than previously understood, United Nations aid
agencies said today after revising their estimates of the number of people
affected and the scale of the damage to homes and other infrastructure.
More
than 8.5 million people are now estimated to have been affected by the storm,
about 1.5 million more than originally thought, according to the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It said more funds may be
needed from donors to help authorities cope with the situation.
“As
more information becomes available, an even grimmer reality is being
revealed,” OCHA said in a press statement, noting that about 2.6 million
Bangladeshis across nine districts of the South Asian delta country still need
immediate life-saving assistance.
The
death toll has increased slightly to 3,268, the number of people considered
missing is 872 and the number of injured has been revised upward by 5,000 to
almost 40,000. The material damage is also more severe than understood: nearly
564,000 homes have been completely destroyed, a leap of 200,000 on earlier
reports, while another 885,280 houses have been damaged.
OCHA
said at least 1.25 million livestock have been confirmed killed, more than twice
the previous estimate, and the area of cropland damaged has risen to 2 million
acres.
Food,
shelter and cash remain the three highest priority areas for emergency
assistance, according to the latest UN humanitarian assessments, but sanitation,
drinking water, electricity and livelihood assistance are also seen as critical.
So far
the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has disbursed $14.7 million to
help with relief efforts in the most affected areas of Bangladesh, while
international donors have contributed over $143 million.
But OCHA
said even more money could be needed to storm-affected Bangladeshis given the
rising tolls and the identification of new needs among the population.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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