by Graeme Braid (Perth, Australia)
Cyclone Sidr Destruction – Bangladesh
I think we are already seeing refugees as a result of the climate change. Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh and has left a huge trail of devastation. More than 4 million people have been affected, homes and houses destroyed, areas deforested, wrecked schools, ruined crops, killed thousands of livestock, contaminated waterways, and disrupted the transport system (what there was of it!). The cyclone killed more than 3,000 people, and the number is still rising!
Millions of people are still without sufficient food, water, or shelter since cyclone Sidr hit. What is going to happen to them? Where will they go?
At the centre of the destruction more than 90 per cent of homes and 95 per cent of rice crops and valuable prawn farms were wiped out by the winds. The cyclone generated a huge 20ft tidal surge that swept everything from its path.
This is the most deadly cyclone to hit Bangladesh for 131 years, and we can expect to see more ferocious storms in the future. Climate change is real people!
