he economic loss from the cyclone Sidr that hit Bangladesh’s south-western coastal areas on November 15, causing death and destruction, is estimated at $2.31 billion. The estimate was reported today by the nation’s top Financial Express newspaper, quoting a top armed forces officer yesterday after a coordination meeting between the government and the business community.
The Finance ministry had so far defined the impact of the cyclone on the national economy as “huge”, generically indicating “colossal losses” that would affect the annual economic growth rate, projected at around 7%. Based on the preliminary estimate, the $2.31-billion include damages to infrastructure, the rural sector, schools, crops and livestock.
On the humanitarian front, the situation is far from under control. Local press sources today
emphasize the total “lack of coordination” in the distribution of food and relief material. Based on information gathered also by the Civil
Defense office, there has been a surplus of aid in some areas, the easiest to reach with functioning infrastructure, while the worst-hit zones are still without water, food and basic necessities.
The economic loss from the cyclone Sidr that hit Bangladesh’s south-western coastal areas on November 15 is estimated at $2.31 billion
Also the army denounced the situation, emphasizing that in areas where the people received more than the necessary aid a parallel market was created to resell the materials in excess. The government already called for 200,000
tons of cereal to meet the food needs of the areas hit by Sidr, where over 70% of crops were destroyed.
Based on first projections, residents of the worst-hit areas may need to depend on the food programme set up by the government until March or April of next year. The last official government estimate, issued last night by the Civil
Defense office, indicates 3,061 confirmed dead, 1,180 missing, over 1.5-million families affected, for a total of 6.8-million people.
(From MISNA)