US govt to fund construction of 100 cyclone shelters

FE Report The US government will fund a four year $40.5 million project to construct 100 multipurpose cyclone shelters in the disaster-prone areas of Bangladesh through US Agency for International Development (USAID). These cyclone shelters will provide accommodation to 180,000 people during an emergency and will serve as schools for approximately 18,000 pupils when not used as shelters, said a press release Sunday. Each shelter will be equipped with a separate room with first aid facilities for pregnant women, toilets for men and women, and water supply facilities with rain water catchment reservoirs. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will implement this project, which is already in progress. Earlier USAID programmes included the construction and maintenance of over 500 multi-purpose flood and cyclone shelters as well as wave protection walls and earthen embankments to reduce flood damage. USAID has also built nearly 4,000 physical mitigation structures such as roads and embankments, has trained local disaster management committees to oversee emergency response, and has provided cyclone-preparedness training programmes for coastal areas.