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The death toll in Bangladesh is staggering and will probably exceed 2000 before all searches are over. The low lying country was smashed by super cyclone Sidr on Thursday with winds in excess of 155 mph. Rescue efforts are underway with Military ships and helicopters trying to reach the thousands of survivors of the catastrophe.
Sidr is the strongest cyclone since 1991 when over 140,000 people were killed in Bangladesh’s worst natural disaster. The people of this lowland country have so many problems and this added suffering is something we should all respond to. Navy ships have been scouring low lying coastal areas today in efforts to recue stranded survivors and to clear rivers of sunken ships. The devastation will not be tolled for many days but already there are 1600 people confirmed dead.

According to the Reuters news story, the United States has not et made any official offer of assistance, but a few naval and air units have lent aid to nearby victims. Diarrhea, water and food shortages are already becoming critical according to officials. Officials also said that over 1000 fishermen and 150 boats are still unaccounted for in the Bay of Bengal. Much of Bangladesh is in darkness as I write this article and I know some conditions will simply get worse before they get better. Bangladesh’s infrastructure is not nearly substantial enough to respond properly.

This is just devastating news – much of the rice crop that is about ready to be harvested has also been damaged. Bless these poor people and let us all hope more help arrives very soon. It seems like my story of the day nearly every day is about people in turmoil or other danger. For a technology writer, these random acts of Mother Nature really dwarf any of our advancements, and leave me at least, feeling helpless except to call attention to them.

Image and video courtesy - Reuters