Cyclone Sidr kills hundreds in Bangladesh
{{date|November 16, 2007}}
[[Image:LocationBangladesh.svg|thumb|right|300px|Location of Bangladesh.]]
Powerful {{w|Cyclone Sidr}} battered [[Bangladesh]], killing hundreds of people, though reports vary. Citing the local ''United News of Bangladesh'', the ''Associated Press'' is reporting a death toll of 1,100. 

An evacuation of some 3 million was attempted before the storm made landfall. Anjana Pasricha reported from {{w|New Delhi}} for {{w|VOA News}} that, officials say advance preparation saved many lives, in a country accustomed to natural disasters.

Officials say the cyclone crashed into the country's southern coast Thursday night with winds of up to 240 kilometers an hour, triggering huge waves. 

Many villages were devastated as the winds uprooted trees and flattened homes. Torrential rain and waves washed away crops. Officials say many of the victims were killed by falling trees or debris from collapsing homes.

Shail Shrestha, program coordinator for the {{w|International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies}} in Dhaka, said preliminary reports indicate that the devastation is widespread.

"Phone lines are cut and communication system is very much disrupted, said Shrestha. "Agriculture products are badly damaged and livestock are also badly damaged."
[[Image:Sidr 15nov2007 0930-1500Z rgb 4k.gif|thumb|left|300px|Tropical Cyclone Sidr as it continued its northward progress over the Bay of Bengal on November 15, 2007. {{Image source|{{w|University of Wisconsin}}}}]]
The worst of the storm was over by early Friday. This made it possible for government and volunteer teams to dispatch relief teams carrying food, water, medicines, and tents for the people in the affected districts. 

Although the storm has caused considerable destruction, officials say a mass evacuation ordered in advance helped save many lives. 

Hundreds of thousands of coastal villagers were evacuated into government-built cyclone shelters and other buildings as the storm approached. 

The shelters were built after the low-lying country suffered massive casualties in previous cyclones. A storm that hit the country in 1970 killed about half a million people. Another cyclone in 1991 killed more than 130,000.

{{w|Chittagong}} is one of the districts that lay in the path of the storm. A senior district official, Mokhlesur Rahman, says the region was spared large-scale casualties. 

"We did evacuate a lot of people into different cyclone shelters, some in educational institutions," said Rahman. "It was of much help, evacuation…. Now they are going back home."

[[India]]'s east coast was also bracing for the cyclone, but so far it has escaped the storm's fury. Authorities reported that several areas were hit by heavy rain, but there was little damage.

{{haveyoursay}}
{{BasedOn|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-11-16-voa12.cfm|title=Powerful Cyclone Wreaks Havoc in Bangladesh|by=VOA News|copy=Copyright status of work by the U.S. government|PD-USGov|copyurl=http://www.voanews.com/english/disclaim.cfm}}

== Related news ==
*{{wikinews|title=Cyclone Sidr smashes Bangladesh's coastline, millions evacuated|date=November 15, 2007}}

== Sources ==
{{Wikipedia|Cyclone Sidr}}
*{{source|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jY0QrS8yNcOHGn_pvMb7pzUoNzbwD8SUS3TO1
|title=Cyclone Toll Reaches 1,100 in Bangladesh
|author=
|pub=Associated Press
|date=Novemeber 16, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jY0QrS8yNcOHGn_pvMb7pzUoNzbwD8SUPR4O1
|title=Report: Bangladesh Cyclone Kills 425
|author=Julha Alam
|pub=Associated Press
|date=Novemeber 16, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=a3Pg3mtuBE50&refer=india
|title=Cyclone Sidr Slams Into Bangladesh; 150 Die, AFP Says
|pub=Bloomberg L.P.
|date=November 16, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-11-16-voa12.cfm
|title=Powerful Cyclone Wreaks Havoc in Bangladesh
|author=Anjana Pasricha
|pub=VOA News
|date=November 16, 2007}}

{{publish}}
{{archived}}

[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Disasters and accidents]]
[[Category:Tropical cyclones]]
[[Category:Dhaka (district)]]
[[Category:Bay of Bengal]]
[[Category:Chittagong]]

[[es:El ciclón Sidr deja cientos de muertos en Bangladesh]]
[[it:Bangladesh: 10mila i morti stimati per il ciclone Sidr]]
[[pl:Setki zabitych przez cyklon Sidr w Bangladeszu]]
[[pt:Ciclone Sidr deixa um rastro de destruição no Bangladesh]]
Location of Bangladesh.
Powerful  battered Bangladesh, killing hundreds of people, though reports vary. Citing the local United News of Bangladesh, the Associated Press is reporting a death toll of 1,100. 

An evacuation of some 3 million was attempted before the storm made landfall. Anjana Pasricha reported from VOA News that, officials say advance preparation saved many lives, in a country accustomed to natural disasters.

Officials say the cyclone crashed into the country's southern coast Thursday night with winds of up to 240 kilometers an hour, triggering huge waves. 

Many villages were devastated as the winds uprooted trees and flattened homes. Torrential rain and waves washed away crops. Officials say many of the victims were killed by falling trees or debris from collapsing homes.

Shail Shrestha, program coordinator for the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Dhaka, said preliminary reports indicate that the devastation is widespread.

"Phone lines are cut and communication system is very much disrupted, said Shrestha. "Agriculture products are badly damaged and livestock are also badly damaged."
Tropical Cyclone Sidr as it continued its northward progress over the Bay of Bengal on November 15, 2007. 
The worst of the storm was over by early Friday. This made it possible for government and volunteer teams to dispatch relief teams carrying food, water, medicines, and tents for the people in the affected districts. 

Although the storm has caused considerable destruction, officials say a mass evacuation ordered in advance helped save many lives. 

Hundreds of thousands of coastal villagers were evacuated into government-built cyclone shelters and other buildings as the storm approached. 

The shelters were built after the low-lying country suffered massive casualties in previous cyclones. A storm that hit the country in 1970 killed about half a million people. Another cyclone in 1991 killed more than 130,000.

 is one of the districts that lay in the path of the storm. A senior district official, Mokhlesur Rahman, says the region was spared large-scale casualties. 

"We did evacuate a lot of people into different cyclone shelters, some in educational institutions," said Rahman. "It was of much help, evacuation…. Now they are going back home."

India's east coast was also bracing for the cyclone, but so far it has escaped the storm's fury. Authorities reported that several areas were hit by heavy rain, but there was little damage.

es:El ciclón Sidr deja cientos de muertos en Bangladesh
it:Bangladesh: 10mila i morti stimati per il ciclone Sidr
pl:Setki zabitych przez cyklon Sidr w Bangladeszu
Ciclone Sidr deixa um rastro de destruição no Bangladesh
Asia Bangladesh Disasters and accidents Tropical cyclones Dhaka (district) Bay of Bengal Chittagong