Forecasts of the landfall of a severe tropical cyclonic storm named “Amphan” in the West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts have triggered the release of funding to reduce its impact on vulnerable communities living in the 13 coastal districts of Bangladesh.
Cyclone Amphan is expected to hit the western regions of Bangladesh on Wednesday, 20 May 2020 with core wind speeds of 160 km/h and gusts of up to 180 km/h. The Bangladesh government and Bangladesh Red Crescent’s joint Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) has started evacuating thousands of people.
Based on the projected track and intensity of Cyclone Amphan, Bangladesh Red Crescent has activated their Early Action Protocol in 9 most vulnerable coastal districts of Bangladesh. Red Crescent activated tier 1 of the Early Action Protocol which allowed them to mobilize up to 75,000 US dollars. Soon after, the tier 2 was initiated, which is the pre-agreed amount of 138,000 US dollars from IFRC’s designated fund for anticipatory action, Forecast-based Action by the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF).
As per the protocol, Red Crescent and CPP are supporting evacuations, helping the population to bring their valuables with them to safety, and ensuring availability of dry food and drinking water in at least 40 cyclone shelters. Precautions are being taken to make an effort in reducing exposure of community members and responders’ exposure to COVID-19.