INTRO | HIGHLIGHTS | FEATURES | FOCUS | PERSPECTIVES | BIOS
SURVIVING THE
STORM: REBUILDING
AFTER CYCLONE SIDR
IN BANGLADESH
A Saudi government sponsored house.
The house in the background on the top
right is owned by an elite, which is three
times larger, but built at the same cost.
MD NADIRUZZAMAN reports on
community housing struggles in
southern Bangladesh after the
Cyclone Sidr disaster
Terror of the Sidr’s Night
In mid-November 2007, the coastal
communities around the Boleshwar River
in Bangladesh were devastated by a gigantic
storm surge. In Gabtola, located in southern
Bangladesh, only four houses out of thousands
withstood the storm. There was not a single
family who did not count a huge financial loss
in all three of my field sites. They were familiar
with both cyclone and false