|
Borhan Uddin shows us a cyclone shelter
|
Photo: Shafiqul Alam/Oxfam
|
"I have
worked for 21 years as a Team Leader on a cyclone preparedness operation.
This cyclone
shelter was built in 1992. It is used by people who live within
about five kilometres of here. It is open to anyone who wishes to
come.
As you can see,
this shelter is definitely the strongest building in the area! It
is made from solid concrete and its foundations are 11 feet deep.
The rooms upstairs rest on strong concrete pillars. Sometimes in
a cyclone there are huge waves of water. In this shelter, the water
rushes underneath the building and people stay protected above.
The shelter
is shaped like two sides of a triangle, facing into the wind. To
come in everybody climbs the staircase at the back. It's slightly
more sheltered from the wind there. Railings help people climb if
winds are very strong.
Upstairs there
are two large rooms -- one for men, and another for women and children.
There are bars on the windows, and metal shutters, but no glass
in case it breaks. There is a water supply and toilets, but these
are downstairs.
Last year the
cyclone shelter was used three times when there were cyclone alerts
-- once in May, and twice in November. Luckily these cyclones did
not actually strike this area. The last to actually hit was on 29th
April 1995. Seven hundred people sheltered here. They started to
arrive at about 5pm and the cyclone hit at 10pm. It was at its most
serious at 1am and people started to go home the next morning. Only
the older, or injured people stayed on. Because people knew about
this shelter and could take refuge here, only 12 people in the area
died during that cyclone.
When the cyclone
shelter is not being used to provide safety, it is used for other
purposes. Some are used as schools. This shelter is used as a public
space where marriage ceremonies can be conducted, or disputes settled.
It is also used as a vaccination centre for children."
Lesson plan: Exploring a cyclone shelter
|
Cool Planet for Teachers has moved
