How bad is it? Well, we don’t know but Cyclone Sidr has hit Bangladesh hard.
Let me put it clearly, as per Chris Mooney, Bangladesh needs our help.
Now, this is the immediacy of the problem of in Bangladesh. But, in addition, there are the long-term threats related to Global Warming in Bangladesh which, among other things, increase the vulnerability of this country to cyclones (which Global Warming might worsen/increase). Bangladesh is, well, perhaps the canary in the coalmine in terms of nations that will be devastated by Global Warming.
Consider the implications of the following track of Sidr against Bangladesh’s population distribution.
Sidr has killed at least 500 with 1000s injured and 100,000s homeless. There was a nation-wide power outage due to the storms 150 mph winds and a storm surge of 20 feet or more. Tens of thousands of buildings have been destroyed.
Now, the reality is that Bangladesh doesn’t have Michael Brown running their disaster services. Following the devastation from the 1991 Cyclone, Bangladesh has taken serious measures for reducing damage from cyclones. This is partially a success story: consider how much worse the toll might have been without these measures.
If anyone wants to help with donations, Relief Web is a good choice/path to do so.