Build more cyclone shelters
The recent cyclones from the Bay of Bengal highlight how Bangladesh is indeed one of the strongly disaster-prone countries of the world. The people living in the coastal areas like Cox’s Bazar,
St Martin’s, Patuakhali and Maheshkhali are most adversely affected by cyclones. Statistics show that there are in total 3,500 cyclone shelters all over the country against approximately two crore people living in 13,000 km of coastal areas.
As a result, thousands of people find no shelter in these areas when crisis strikes. It is high time that we build enough cyclone shelters to accommodate all coastal residents, and save their lives. We don’t want to see a repetition of the disaster that occurred in 1991.
Md Ridwanur Rahman
Dhaka
