Cyclone Sidr pounds Bangladesh; World Vision sends response. Photo: WVI/AP
Cyclone Sidr came ashore Thursday night with driving rain and high waves. Thousands of villagers fled as it approached, but the 150 mile-an-hour winds pushed up 4-foot high water surges which swamped entires islands. Thousands of flimsy huts have been flattened, and trees and utility poles were knocked down.
According to the Associated Press, officials at the cyclone center in the capital of Dhaka say most of the people who died were killed by falling trees and debris; others drowned when they fell off boats.
Relief workers are struggling to get help to hard-hit areas. Vincent Edwards with World Vision Bangladesh says the storm leveled a lot of Bangladeshi homes and those people left homeless need a place to stay.
World Vision and other relief agencies will help where they can to provide humanitarian aid and support. Christian relief agencies are praying that there will be opportunities to share the Gospel with those who have been affected. Click here if you can help.
