Executing the Maritime Strategy: 2 Amphibs En Route To Bangladesh After Cyclone
Forward Presence; Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response
(ASSOCIATED PRESS 18 NOV 07) WASHINGTON – The White House offered condolences Saturday evening to victims of a deadly cyclone in Bangladesh and said the U.S. government has provided an initial $2.1 million in emergency relief aide. A statement from press secretary Dana Perino said the amphibious assault ship Essex and the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge are en route to Bangladesh to help and that the U.S. will airlift 35 tons of non-food items such as plastic sheeting, jerricans, hygiene kits and other supplies.
Tropical Cyclone Sidr, the deadliest storm to hit the country in a decade, destroyed tens of thousands of homes in southwest Bangladesh on Thursday and killed at least 1,723 people. More than a million coastal villagers were forced to evacuate to government shelters.
It’s actually worse. From a brief we reviewed this AM:
- 3,148 dead, over 2200 missing and over 6600 injured – estimated that casualties could climb past 10,000
- Survivors who swam out of Patuakhali area say 80% of population killed – reported seeing hundreds of corpses
- 500,000 homes fully destroyed and 845,000 households directly affected
Scope of this disaster is just being taken – early reports indicate this event may be eclipsed only by the 1970 cyclone (300K-500K killed, +200K missing). Fully expect that Tarawa, enroute to the IO for her regular deployment will be sent there as well.
Has anyone found a way to blame Bush for the storm in Bangladesh yet?