Personal Accounts of Disaster
Accounts compiled by Luke Juran, University of Iowa

Tanbir Ahmad, student from Chittagong College, personal account of cyclone that struck Moheshkaly Island in 1997: "The cyclone signal went off at number ten, the highest degree of warning. My family of five went to the shelter that was five kilometers away. We didn’t have time to bring anything to the shelter so we were unprepared. We were at the shelter for two days and nobody brought any food or water the entire time, not the government or any organizations. The shelter was extremely unhygienic. There were only two or three toilets for 1,000 people and everybody was dirty. My little sister got diarrhea but there was no medicine for her. We couldn’t sleep because the shelter was too overcrowded, the cyclone was blowing, the rain was pouring, and we were too worried about what was happening to our house. After two days we returned to our home. The walls had been destroyed and all the trees were fallen. We don’t have any crops or livestock, but our neighbors do and they lost all of their farming livelihood. I felt there was political failure. There is too much corruption and black money in our country and we end up getting hurt in the end with little assistance or help from the government."

Tanbir Ahmad, survivor of 1997 cyclone

Male college student from Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, personal account of cyclone that struck Bhola Island in 1991:

"I am from Bhola Island, the largest island on the southern coast of Bangladesh. I remember the cyclone of April 29, 1991. The forecast said that 150-200 kilometer per hour winds would be coming. The weather was calm and quiet and there seemed to be no sign of a storm. Then the wind started picking up, the weather got bad. When I woke up in the morning I couldn’t believe what I saw. All the trees were fallen, all the houses were destroyed, all the livestock were dead, and people were crying. I lost two uncles and my grandfather. My extended family and I had four houses altogether; three of them were destroyed. We went to stay at the house of one of my uncles, his house was the only one that survived, but it was not in good shape. There were twenty of us staying in one room. Helicopters came and threw food from above. There was no shelter in 1991 but there are sufficient shelters now. The situation has improved."

 

Female college student from Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, personal account of 1998 flood in Thangail:

"I remember the flood of 1988 that struck my village in Thangail area. Our house collapsed and my sister was killed. We had to go to my grandpa’s house but his house was also badly affected. We had to stack three chokees [traditional bed with four legs and a flat board on top] on top of each other and stay there because the water had risen so high."

Bhadul Karim, 9th grade student from Jhebashi High School in Bariakhandi, personal account of cyclone that struck Bariakhandi in 1997: "During the cyclone my family members and I took safe place in a shelter on high ground. It was one kilometer from my house. We were there for three days. We took matches, kerosene, moori [puffed rice], chira [flat rice], molasses, and water. My six brothers, one sister, two parents, and I all stayed at the shelter for three days. We also go to the shelter or a safe place during floods, but not during normal floods, only during extreme floods."

Bhadul Karim, survivor of 1997 cyclone

Assistant Professor at Chittagong College:

"If I could tell American students one thing about Bangladesh, I would tell them that Bangladeshis constantly face natural disasters-- but we always stay optimistic and tolerate the problems with little assistance from the government or outside."