Dhaka, May 4 (newsin.asia): If the deadly cyclone Fani has killed only four people and injured 63 in Bangladesh, it is significantly due to the yeoman service rendered by the 13 community radio stations staffed by about 100 young men and women volunteers.
Thanks to the weather broadcasts beamed every 15 minutes and volunteers on bicycles armed with torches and whistles, 1.6 million people were moved to cyclone shelters.
Mercifully, the cyclone weakened before entering Bangladesh on Saturday morning after killing at least 12 people in the East Indian state of Odisha.
From the morning of May 2, Bangladesh’s thirteen community radio stations staffed by about a hundred young men and women have so far beamed 514 hours of radio programs and consistent weather updates.
The stations are maintaining full-time liaison with the disaster monitoring cells at district and Upazila levels, to get the current weather update.
They are also in contact with Red Crescent members, Scouts and disaster volunteers at local levels.
Information is being provided to the community regarding preparedness for the most vulnerable group of people and assets as well.
The stations are broadcasting information about cyclone shelters and other disaster response facilities in the locality.
Besides, the members of Radio Listeners’ Clubs are doing awareness-raising campaign regarding preparedness within their community, neighbors and relatives.
Each Community radio station has deployed two consistent broadcasters to be responsibility to continuously communicate with Union and District Disaster Management Committees, and district and upazilla disaster control rooms, to have the latest update on the weather situation.
With the Standing Orders on Disaster (SOD) community radio stations are broadcasting special bulletin updates every 15 minutes from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
Broadcasting will continue till the end of the emergency situation from the government.
All community broadcasters are abiding by instructions from the Bangladesh Betar Dhaka Center. There is also focused guidance from the Ministry of Information.
