1M Bangladesh Cyclone Survivors Still Homeless

Reconstruction donations run short
By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 23, 2007 2:40 PM CST

Five weeks after Cyclone Sidr tore through Bangladesh, more than 1 million people still lack basic shelter, reports Reuters. While rebuilding efforts continue, the Red Cross says the country suffers from acute lack of funding. The cyclone killed 3,300, laid waste to 1.5 million homes, and destroyed 1 million tons of rice crops.

Bangladesh is seeking $2 billion in foreign aid but has thus far received only $470 million in commitments, reports the AP. "Hundreds of families still face the approaching winter with little more for shelter than reclaimed and often damaged building materials," said one aid worker. Sidr was Bangladesh's worst weather catastrophe since a 1991 cyclone killed 148,000. (More Bangladesh stories.)

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