Aid rushed to Bangladesh tornado victims

'It looked like hell'

May 15, 1996
Web posted at: 9:15 a.m. EDT (1315 GMT)

RAMPUR, Bangladesh (CNN) -- When a violent tornado ripped through northern Bangladesh, Reazuddin Ahmed and his family huddled against a cement wall and prayed. The storm then catapulted homes into the air and reduced larger buildings to rubble.

"It looked like hell had been let loose. It was dust and wind everywhere. We prayed to God: Save us," said Babul Ahmed, Reazuddin's 10-year-old son.

The Ahmeds were lucky. When debris was removed and bodies retrieved, at least 55 of their neighbors were dead.

The scene is similar throughout northern Bangladesh, (319K QuickTime movie)where a tornado packing winds of up to 125 mph flattened about 80 villages in less than 30 minutes Monday. Relief workers are now shuttling supplies to the devastated regions.

Authorities reported Wednesday that 447 people were dead and nearly 50,000 injured in one of the worst tornadoes in the nation's history. The death toll may reach over 1,000, authories said.

Some people were buried alive. Many others were killed by the shrapnel of tin roofs and tree branches that shot through the air.

One official simply said, "You see, the situation is: Nobody has escaped the wrath."

Frustrated by the widespread devastation, another relief official said, "There is even no trace of trees in the area. How can you hope to find the people dead or alive?"

Meanwhile, another storm with winds whirling up to 50 mph struck southern and eastern Bangladesh Tuesday night, killing five people and injuring 160.

Hospitals overflowing

Monday's tornado struck hardest in the Tangail district, 45 miles north of Dhaka.

In the village of Bashail, at least 120 people were killed. Many of the victims were students at a boarding school, who died when the school building was toppled, said local administrator Irsat Jahan.

Hundreds of volunteers reached the affected areas by early Wednesday and began distributing relief supplies. They also built makeshift shelters for survivors. Relief officials said 50 tons of wheat, 30 tons of rice, clothes and house-building materials were being delivered.

In addition, 500 soldiers, mostly medical workers, left Dhaka Wednesday morning to assist with the critically injured.

The tragedy quickly overwhelmed local hospitals as thousands of injured people arrived for treatment, many of them bleeding from cuts all over their bodies.

At a government hospital in Tangail equipped with 200 beds, more than 1,000 patients lay on its floors. One rural hospital in Gopalpur is suited for 35 patients; more than 2,000 people have been brought there for treatment.

Tornadoes common

Tornadoes are common in the tropical delta of Bangladesh during April, May and June, but few unleash a trail of horror like Monday's. In 1989, a tornado in northwestern Bangladesh killed about 500 people.

The annual monsoon season, which begins in July and brings cyclones and floods, is known to be more deadly. Bangladesh's worst cyclone killed at least 130,000 people along the southern coast in 1991.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related story:

• Tornado kills more than 400 in Bangladesh - May 14, 1996

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