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Purnima Chattopadhayay-Dutt attended ADPC's first Regional Course on Community Based Approaches in Disaster Management. She is currently working as a consultant to the "Community Based Disaster Preparedness Programme" (CBDPP) of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), supported by the German Red Cross, in Cox's Bazar District, Bangladesh. Here she describes her experiences of working with the community in the immediate aftermath of a cyclone in Bangladesh in May 1997.

When I set off for Cox's Bazar on the 19th of May, 1997, to organize a cyclone relief operation together with my colleagues of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), I was not aware that this time we would get assistance from an unexpected source: from the beneficiaries themselves.

We all could well remember the pictures of 1991, when a devastating cyclone killed 138.000 people, destroyed hundreds of thousands of houses and left the population in the affected areas without food and even drinking water for days and weeks, and all in or close to our field area.

However, this time the picture was quite different. The volunteers of the Red Crescent Society succeeded in warning the greater part of the population, which could then be evacuated to the cyclone shelters, concrete buildings on 4 m high pillars, many of which have been build by BDRCS with the support of the German Red Cross and other national Red Cross societies.

In addition, the Village Disaster Preparedness Committees (VDPCs) initiated by the Community Based Disaster Preparedness Programme (CBDPP) of BDRCS (which is supported by the German Red Cross) participated actively in the warning and evacuation of the population in their field areas. The VDPCs also initiated additional disaster preparedness measures prior to the cyclone, like the storage of emergency food, safe drinking water and valuables at family level, the cyclone-strengthening of houses (especially the roofs), etc. In the cyclone shelters looked after by the village committees, the chaos and panic which usually predominates, was completely absent. Women, children and old people were assisted during the evacuation and were assigned safe places within the shelter. Thus, stampedes (which often lead to injuries or even casualties) could be avoided, and everybody was safe despite the long duration of the storm.

But even after the cyclone, the VDPCs remained active and participated in making damage assessments and beneficiary lists together with the CBDPP staff. Afterwards, the committee members as well as volunteers of the community helped in transporting, loading, unloading and the distribution of relief goods donated by the German Red Cross and distributed by the BDRCS. Even deeply veiled women, who are usually not seen in public life in this conservative area, participated in the relief operation and distributed goods till late night.

Through the participation of the target community, riots and looting (which were experienced by other agencies) could be avoided. The active participation of the VDPCs also ensured that the goods actually reached the most affected people - and not the most powerful. Last, not least, the voluntary work of the community helped to save time and money, which made this relief operation very cost efficient.

Despite the sad occasion, the cyclone in May 1997 (and the subsequent relief operation supported by the German Red Cross) proved, that communities can actually help themselves in emergency situations. On this self-help capacity, the CBDPP, BDRCS, Cox's Bazar, wants to build and facilitate further community activities in the field of disaster preparedness. In future, the VDPCs will keep on working in the fields of awareness raising, cyclone-strengthening of houses, plantation of life-saving trees, construction of mini-killas (safe haven for cattle) and other DP-related activities.

In addition, the VDPCs have initiated the improvement of the cyclone shelters, which lack proper sanitation and drinking water facilities, which will be taken up by the programme in 1998.

For my colleagues from BDRCS, but also for me, this cyclone relief operation was a new experience. For the first time, we experienced the beneficiaries not as (potential) victims but as equal partners who actively deal with their needs.

And now we know: Community Based Relief Operations are feasible!