Folks, Sheril is busy today and can't post, but for the first time we have tried videoblogging--and what she has to say couldn't be on a more urgent subject, the devastation caused by Cyclone Sidr. Please watch and I hope you're as inspired as I am by her words:
The death toll from Sidr is up to 600 and, unfortunately, still seems to be rising. And of course that doesn't include injured, missing, displaced, newly homeless...Jeff Masters has more on the unfolding news of the disaster--including an amazing graphic depicting the population densities of the areas along the storm's path--and so does Greg Laden.
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Sheril & Chris,
You are doing such a superb job, and performing such an important service for all of us by keeping us up-to-date on the devastation in Bangladesh. I think that the video is very powerful, and will encourage people to open their hearts and checkbooks to help.
It has been 24-hours since Hurricane Sidr made landfall on the Bay of Bengal coast in Bangladesh. Last night, there was hope that the brunt of Sidr's force would be felt by the less populated areas of the Sundarbans, the mangrove forest that stretches along the western third of the coast. It looks now that the storm hit the coastal belt pretty much dead center, in the district of Bagerhat- a highly-populated area. A friend who runs clinic in the town of Mothbaria, one of the towns in the very center of the devastation, says that there is hardly anything left standing, save a few brick and concrete buildings.
The roads are also gone, washed away by the storm surge. She's unable to go to her clinic only 2 kilometers away. There is no electricity. Food and supplies are scarce, and she estimates that in a few days there won't even be enough rice to go around. Most alarming is that a large number of women and children seem to be missing.
Nearly all of the country has been out of electricity for the last 24 hours, and phone services have been severely disrupted. (Of the numerous phone calls that I have attempted to make, only two have gone through so far.)
Death toll continues to rise. It stands at 1,100 now according to the Associated Press, a number that is significantly bigger than what is being reported in the local media. It will be no doubt a long time before the full impact of the storm has been weighed.
http://www.thedailystar.net/latest/updates.php?pid=-97
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071116/ap_on_re_as/bangladesh_cyclone;_ylt…
Sorry, that was silly mistake calling Sidr a hurricane :-O
wow, naturally vlogger. tx sheril.
Great job, Sheril - this medium definitely works for me - you and Chris are doing great being so far ahead of the curve on this tragedy. Thanks.
You sound great. This small clip is more powerful than the garbage I'm seeing on tv-even now that it's finally making news. We know Chris is excellent on camera also. I hope you two will continue video blogging. It's genuine and the world can clearly benefit from hearing more from your combined strengths. We need bright young minds like yours to give us hope because our generation blew it. Thank you.
hay I think you have done a great job with this and the video clip. I am from Bangladesh and have family and friends there. I am doin a slid show and a spech at college on wednesday. Except I was a little stuck but when I saw your video I knew how to finish off my spech. Thanks and keep it up.
Great job, Thx
hay I think you have done a great job with this and the video clip