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In May 2009 Cyclone Aila caused widespread destruction in north-eastern India and Bangladesh, killing over 200 people and making approximately 500,000 homeless. Sightsavers partners in the region had their work badly disrupted.

The Sunderbans Delta, which lies in the south-east of the state of West Bengal and crosses into Bangladesh, was the worst affected area. Powerful winds destroyed thousands of homes, uprooted trees and wreaked chaos throughout the region, whilst collapsing river banks and tidal surges caused widespread flooding and damaged farmlands and businesses.

The impact of Cyclone Aila is likely to be long-lasting in a region where the beauty of the mangrove forests can often disguise extreme levels of poverty; around 40% of the Sunderbans’ population lives on less than $1 a day, 70% of children are malnourished and 40% of women are illiterate. The geography of the region, with 3.5 million people spread across 102 islands also poses major problems for ensuring individuals receive the most basic health care.

Sunderbans Social Development Centre

Our partners in the region, the Sunderbans Social Development Centre (SSDC) have been working tirelessly since 2001 with a vision of upholding the human dignity of the poor and the marginalised through empowerment. The SSDC have established and run an eye hospital, a maternal health hospital and consistently run outreach camps and eye screenings across the region. The camps are used to diagnose potential problems, raise awareness and attempt to bridge the gap between the communities’ secluded village lives and a lack of access to basic eye services and health care.

However, Cyclone Aila forced the postponement of the SSDC’s outreach camps and planned surgeries for over a week. With most of the region submerged in water and access to many communities highly restricted, running the camps became an impossible task. Despite the problems the eye hospital remained open, but with a skeleton staff and very few patients able to travel and receive their treatment.

Providing relief

The SSDC were able to use their position in the Sunderbans to help many of the victims of Cyclone Aila. Volunteers were immediately sent to the worst affected communities and were able to provide basic relief. Items of food were also taken to people who had been forced to find shelter in the local schools. Aware that disaster situations often impact the disabled, women and children the hardest, Sightsavers’ partners continued to provide relief to the people who needed it most in the aftermath of the cyclone.

There are growing concerns surrounding the number of health issues that are likely to swarm the region. Many communities had their water supplies contaminated by salt water from tidal surges, leaving the region highly susceptible to the rapid spread of disease. In the days immediately following the cyclone humanitarian organisations reported a high number of cases of diarrhea and snake bites, as the region struggled to come to terms with the full affects of Cyclone Aila.