The cyclone forced an estimated 500 thousand people in India to abandon their homes. West Bengal’s’ emergency department confirms that the over 130 thousand of the displaced have found refuge in camps set up for them by the government. Aid is trickling through via boat or airlifts, the only forms of transport capable of gaining access to the affected areas.
Bangladesh reports at least 170 thousand made homeless and 17 thousand injured. Many are making their way back to their homes even if the zones that were in Aila’s path are still considered to be in a state of emergency. Authorities in Dhaka are attempting to prevent an outbreak of typhoid and diarrhoea after some deaths from the water-borne diseases in Satkhira district. Aid is struggling to arrive because of the break down in all communications and infrastructure in the area. There is a shortage of food and medicine and in response to the emergency the government has set aside 4.6 million dollars and 19 thousand tonnes of rice for the affected population.