Mission Aviation Fellowship flying aid to Bangladesh's remote cyclone survivors

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is playing a vital role in relief efforts in Bangladesh after the devastating cyclone that hit there last week.

Bangladesh continues to be the focus of a massive relief effort. According to reports, millions of people have been displaced by Cyclone Sidr, thousands have been killed, and many are still missing. Many remote regions have yet to be reached with relief.

MAF has an established base there, but John Woodberry, MAF manager of disaster response, said MAF is ratcheting up its work.

"Right now we're flying supplies and people during the assessment phase, and getting help where it's most urgently needed. But we're also looking at providing emergency communications as communications hubs get established," said Woodberry. "The need is very great," he said.

"Four million people have been displaced, about 3,000 people have died, and 3,000 homes have been destroyed. Access to the coast is terrible. So we've been flying non-stop, to try to get people in and out so relief can go where it's most needed."

Aid agencies said the death toll could end much higher.

The city of Patharghata, with an estimated population of 40,000, was hit especially hard.

"They had a shelter, but it could only hold 150 people. And this cyclone was much worse than any they had ever had before. They only got 300 into the shelter. And, if you can imagine, when the storm hit, many many people were left outside. In that village, 2,000 people died," Woodberry said.

Reports are that the water pushed inland and churned throughout the city for close to 30 minutes. Families tied each other together with rope, and then attached themselves to large trees. After the cyclone moved farther inland, all of the water suddenly rushed out of the town and back out to sea, pulling thousands of people and hundreds of animals and homes with it.

"It was like pulling the plug on the drain in your bath tub all of a sudden," Woodberry said.

Drinking water for people in all these areas is a huge need, he said.

Patharghata is one of many cities along the coast of hundreds of cities and villages that have been hit. Reports indicate that the cyclone was hundreds of kilometers wide, so the path of devastation is widespread. Most people who live in this very poor region of Bangladesh live in homes made of straw, wood, and a tin roof.

MAF is dealing with more flight requests than it can handle, so Woodberry is asking for prayer.

"MAF is one of only two civilian aviation operators in the country," he said. "Pray that we have wisdom to do the work that is most urgent."