Friday, June 19, 2009

Aid for Bangladesh cyclone survivors

Environment News Service: …Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stressed the need for expanding renewable energy in cities during a meeting with representatives of five banks and financial institutions who came to her office with donations to the Prime Minister's relief fund in aid of the victims of Cyclone Aila.

The storm struck southern Bangladesh and eastern India on May 25, leaving 300 people dead and millions displaced. There is still an acute shortage of food and drinking water, and an outbreak of gastro-intestinal diseases. Many people are living in temporary straw sheds on the roads because they cannot get space for their cattle at the rescue centers.

Prime Minister Hasina thanked the banks and institutions for "standing by the families of the martyred army officers and cyclone-affected people of the country's coastal belt." In total, the donations amounted to Tk 74 lakh (7,400,000 Bangladesh Taka or US$107,560) for the relief fund.

… She observed that day by day natural disasters in Bangladesh are increasing because of global warming, due to excessive emission of greenhouse gases mainly in the developed countries….

Severe Cyclonic Storm Aila at peak intensity before landfall, image by NASA

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