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HRES 842 IHEH

Whereas on November 15, 2007, Cylcone Sidr hit the coast of southern Bangladesh with 155 mile-an-hour winds that smashed tens of thousands of homes, damaged roads and buildings, and caused a 165-foot tidal surge that ruined thousands of hectares of crops;

Whereas early reports have branded the destruction from Cyclone Sidr as the worst in Bangladesh in 16 years;

Whereas the resulting damage from the is estimated to have cyclone affected 4more than 8,000,000 so far people evacuation from and through loss of their homes and livelihoods;

Whereas over half of the affected internally displaced population are children, an estimated 400,000 of whom are under the age of 5;

Whereas Bangladesh's Disaster now Ministry estimates that the homes of over 750,000 people wercyclone damaged or destroyed 1,500,000 houses;

Whereas the death toll from the cyclone is alreadystands at 3,500 and continues to climb;more than 3Whereas the Bangladesh Red Crescent has warned that the number of dead could ultimately be as high as 10,000;

Whereas as the 54 districts in southern Bangladesh that were most drastically affected by the cyclone are Barguna, Patuakhali, Bagerhat, Barisal, and hundreds of thousands of people in remote areas of Patuakhali and Barguna are currently cut off from relief operations, which has caused widespread starving and suffering from the lack of access to drinking water and medicines;Whereas Pirojpur;

Whereas one relief worker commented that Bagerhat looked like a `valley of death' in the days after the storm;

Whereas an entire island in Barisal, another district of southern Bangladesh, was submerged under at least 6 feet of water and houses were blown away by in Pirojpur it is estimated that it will take at least 1 week to restore the power supply;Whereas winds;

Whereas the capital, Dhaka, which is located over 130 miles away from the devastated southern coastline, was also impacted by the storm, losing access to power and water for days;

Whereas a massive tidal wave that was caused by Cyclone Sidr hit the Sunderbans, the world's biggest mangrove forest that is home to the endangered Royal Bengal tiger, leaving a wake of death and destruction that have caused experts to declare the forest an `ecological disaster';

Whereas officials at the United Nations World Food Program have appealed for international aid to help save lives in Bangladesh, noting that food supplies have been severely disrupted by the cyclone and that there was risk of famine; and

Whereas, due to the limited access to water supply and sanitation facilities that millions of Bangladeshis will face, health officials have begun warningwarned against serious the possibility of cholera, dysentery, and other waterborne diseases: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) expresses its heartfelt sympathy for the victims of Cyclone Sidr, which has affected southern Bangladesh;

(2) conveys its sincere support to the people of Bangladesh;

(3) urgesupports the United States Government's efforts to immediately make available all appropriate assistance requested the by Bangladeshi authorities; and

(4) reaffirms its commitment to provide relief aid to the victims as the effects of the cyclone continue to unfold.