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Renu's account

Renu, 35 years old, survived the cyclone Sidr

Bokultolla village is located about one kilometer from the river, not far from Rayenda Bazar village. The village consists mostly of small farmers, but about one third are fishermen. Renu lives in Bokultolla village. She is 35 years old, married and has a 12 year old daughter. Her husband has some land and does farming most of the year, but at the time of the cyclone he was away working in Chittagong, so she was alone with her daughter when the cyclone struck.

"I heard the storm warnings, but did not expect it to be more than a strong storm as there has not been a cyclone here for years. So I stayed in the house with my daughter during the initial part of the cyclone. The cyclone shelter is quite far away anyhow. But when the intensity of the winds increased beyond strong storm I decided to go to a concrete house nearby. Around one hundred people were crowded into the first floor. The cyclone had ripped off the tin roof already. We got there just before the tidal surge, which washed away some people, but we managed to hang on. The tidal surge wiped away our house and everything in it. We lost all our animals - the cow, two goats, six ducks, and all the chicken. And the rice crop in the field was totally destroyed. Everyone - rich and poor - where in the same situation. Everybody tried to console those who had lost their dear ones. Some corpses were found right away, but others were found several days later. Even two weeks after the cyclone we found dead bodies. We villagers buried our dead overselves - after they had been identified, but the relief workers buried all the carcases of the animals. We were around 3.000 people in the village. The cyclone killed 40 of us - mostly old people and children - and some are still missing. After two days I went to have a look at what was left of our house, but I stayed in the shelter for about a week until my husband came back from Chittagong. He had been so worried, of course. I was so terrified during the cyclone! I still get upset and cannot collect my thoughts and memories clearly about that terrible night and the days that followed. The days are all mixed up in a haze. Even now - six months after the cyclone - our children are scared of winds and rain, so just imagine how the coming monsoon with all the wind and rains will affect them!"

By Viggo Brun, vbr.india@dca.dk