Rescuers struggle to reach trapped cyclone survivors in Bangladesh
DHAKA, Bangladesh - Hundreds of thousands of survivors were stuck Saturday behind roads blocked by fallen trees, iron roofs and thick sludge as rescue workers fought to reach towns along Bangladesh’s coast that were ravaged by a powerful cyclone whose death now totals at least 1,723 people.
Tropical Cyclone Sidr, the deadliest storm to hit the country in a decade, destroyed tens of thousands of homes in southwest Bangladesh on Thursday and ruined much-needed crops just before harvest season in this impoverished, low-lying South Asian country. More than a million coastal villagers were forced to evacuate to government shelters.
The government scrambled Saturday to join international agencies and local officials in the rescue mission, deploying military helicopters, thousands of troops and naval ships.
Rescuers trying to get food and water to people stranded by flooding struggled to clear roads. Along the coast, 150 mph winds flung small ferries ashore like toy boats, cutting off migrant fishing communities who live on and around hundreds of tiny islands across the area’s web of river channels.
Aid organizations feared that food shortages and contaminated water could lead to widespread problems if people remain stranded.
Television images showed crowds of people scrambling beneath military helicopters as troops dropped food packages through open hatches.
Many parts of Dhaka, the biggest city in this poor, desperately crowded nation of 150 million people, remained without power or water Saturday. More than 4,000 people were injured, military spokesman Lt. Col. Moyeenullah Chowdhury said. Army medical teams were working in the affected area.
An estimated 2.7 million people were affected and 773,000 houses were damaged, according to the Ministry of Disaster Management.