Humanity First

Cyclone Sidr hit the southern coast of Bangladesh late on Thursday evening killing over 2000 people and displacing over 500,000 according to our local team. The storm surges reached over 4 feet driven by winds of 150 mph. Much of the rice crops were wiped out and there was widespread damage to homes, power and communications.

Humanity First teams on the ground were able to talk to survivors in Barisal District in the first two hours after the tragedy when mobile phones were supported by emergency power, but since then, there has been a blackout. HF has sent water launches from Dhaka and Chittagong. We anticipate most help being needed in coastal villages around Barguna and Patuakhali. We will post more details after the assessment, but based on initial reports, HF are planning to set up soup kitchens and also provide basic medical assistance to purify water and protect people from water-borne diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid.