Cyclone deaths condoled, foreign aid pledged

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British Minister for Asia at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Lord Malloch Brown has condoled the death of the Bangladeshi people by the Cyclone Sidr and offered immediate support to relief efforts through the UN, report agencies.
In a message to Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekher Ahmed Chowdhury Friday, the British minister said, "I was greatly shocked to hear of the destruction wrought on Bangladesh by the Cyclone Sidr.''
''Our thoughts go out to the people of Bangladesh, particularly those who have lost, or are missing, loved ones."
''As friends of Bangladesh and its people, we share your determination to rebuild communities. Our ties are deep. We've offered our immediate support to relief efforts through the UN and stand ready to provide more assistance, as and when required," said the British minister.
Meantime, UN Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Dhaka Renata Lok Derssallien Saturday praised the government's preparedness in tackling the disastrous cyclone and said the UN was currently assessing the damages to come up with appropriate relief supports.
Renata Dessallien said this while talking to journalists after she met Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury at his ministry office to discuss the possibilities of UN support in post-cyclone relief.
She expressed the UN's "deep condolences" at the loss of lives and property and said assessment teams are now on the field calculating the amount of relief that would be required.
In another report, two US Navy amphibious assault ships are on their way to Bangladesh after tropical cyclone Sidr slammed into the country's coastal belts, killing at least 1,100 people and making thousands more homeless.
The USS Essex and the USS Kearsarge, each carrying helicopters, hovercraft and equipped with hospital facilities, have been dispatched, pending a formal request for help from the Bangladesh authorities, said Major David Griesmer, spokesman for the US Pacific Command in Hawaii, according to a Bloomberg.com report.
He said more ships might be made available once the Bangladeshi officials know what they need.
The two vessels have ``the capabilities that we think will prove to be the most useful,'' he said. ``It may take several days for the government to work out what it really needs.''
According to a report, the Rome-based World Food Programme is rushing food to Bangladesh and the UN is prepared to make several million dollars available for the government from its emergency relief fund.
The European Union released 1.5 million euros ($2.2 million) in relief aid for Bangladesh, commission spokesman John Clancy said Friday.
``Damage will be extremely severe,'' John Holmes, the UN's coordinator of emergency relief, told reporters in New York Friday.
``The entire country has been affected. The main needs will be for food, shelter and health care,'' he added.
The German government will provide 0.5 million (5.0 lakh) in Euro in grant for the cyclone-hit people of Bangladesh.
Mujtaba Ahmed Morshed, press and political adviser of the German embassy, said Saturday that the money would be distributed among the victims by German Red Cross Society in association with Caritas, an NGO.