The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is expanding its response to meet the immediate needs of nearly 20,000 additional survivors after Cyclone Sidr made landfall over the low-lying coast of Bangladesh on November 15. United Nations officials report that more than 7 million people have been affected, with 3,243 deaths and an additional 880 missing.

In cooperation with the country’s Barguna District, ADRA is distributing a two-week packet of oral-rehydration salts and emergency food to survivors in three villages where 236 people died.

The villages, Dhakin Jarakhali, Chaulapara, and Uttar Jarakhali lost about 85 percent of its homes. About 90 percent of the region’s crops were damaged by the cyclone and nearly 70 percent of its livestock was lost.

Designated beneficiaries are also receiving emergency temporary shelter materials and non-food relief items, such as bedding, household kits, and vegetable seeds.

The four-week project is valued at nearly $250,000, and is financed by ADRA International and ADRA supporting offices from around the world.

The Government of Bangladesh estimates that more than 1.8 million acres of crops were damaged, with more than 523,000 livestock killed. Public buildings were affected as well, with 1,374 educational institutions destroyed and another 8,635 damaged.

For more information, see www.adra.org.