UN lauds Bangladesh, India for keeping persons safe
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appreciated Bangladesh and India for their efforts to keep persons safe well before cyclone Amphan that damaged badly both the countries.
The Secretary-General commended the governments, first responders and communities because of their pre-emptive work to make people safe ahead of the storm and meet their immediate needs afterwards.
"The United Nations stands prepared to support these efforts," said Spokesman for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric.
Dujarric said the Secretary-General is saddened by the loss of lives and destruction therefore of Cyclone Amphan in India and Bangladesh.
He extended his deep condolences to those who have lost their loved ones and wished those injured and damaged by the disaster a speedy recovery.
The UN Secretary-General expressed solidarity with the persons of Bangladesh and India as they face the impact of a devastating cyclone while also giving an answer to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bangladesh government evacuated over two million persons to a lot more than 12,000 cyclone shelters which were supplied with, among other activities, masks and sanitizers, to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
ANY OFFICE of the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh flagged that preliminary reports indicate that damage is minimal in Cox’s Bazar - home to thousands of Rohingya refugees who've fled Myanmar - with some 300 shelters damaged, approximately 60 which were fully destroyed.
Flooding and small landsides have already been reported in several refugee camps, together with blocked drains and damaged stairs, latrines, and bridges - but no word of casualties or deaths.
Humanitarian partners are on standby to make sure access to information, short-term shelter, food, safe normal water and other essential services for damaged refugees according to need.
UN humanitarians and partners worked hard to assist the people of Bangladesh and India experiencing the impact of Cyclone Amphan, which made landfall on Wednesday, wreaking havoc, causing high tidal surges, flooding and embankments to collapse.
“It is believed that around 10 million persons in Bangladesh are influenced by the cyclone, with half of a million families potentially having lost their homes”, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters throughout a regular virtual briefing from New York after the landfall.
The cyclone, which lashed coastal areas with brutal winds and rain, left at least 84 persons across India and Bangladesh dead.
“Our humanitarian colleagues reveal that the storm has damaged houses and crops in Bangladesh”, he continued. “Power has been take off to cities and towns, a lot of which are working to support the COVID-19 pandemic”.
