Bangladesh seeks $700 for rebuilding

DHAKA—Bangladesh said on Monday it was seeking $700 million from foreign aid donors to rebuild southern coastal areas after last month’s devastating cyclone.
“We need international aid worth some $700 million for rebuilding and rehabilitation,” Fakhruddin Ahmed, the head of the interim government, told a meeting of foreign diplomats and donor representatives.
The estimates included $250 million for rebuilding coastal embankments, $150 million for coastal reforestation, $200 million for building some 2,000 cyclone shelters and $100 million for rebuilding schools, he said. Fakhruddin blamed climate change for worsening impact of floods and cyclones on his country.
“After two consecutive floods (in the latest monsoon season) and cyclone Sidr, we need a reawakening and new resolve to shape our destiny,” he said. “An internationally created problem like climate change demands an internationally supported suitable solution for those worst affected as in Bangladesh.”
Cyclone Sidr hit the impoverished South Asian country on November 15 with winds of 250 kph (155 mph) and a 5-foot tidal surge, killed about 3,500 people, left thousands missing or injured, and displaced 2 million. It destroyed hundreds of kilometers of coastal embankments, roads and other infrastructure, including school buildings.—Agencies