[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 842 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 842

    Expressing sympathy to and pledging the support of the House of 
Representatives and the people of the United States for the victims of 
                  Cyclone Sidr in southern Bangladesh.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 4, 2007

   Mr. Rothman (for himself, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Engel, Mr. Hastings of 
 Florida, Mr. McDermott, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Moran of 
Virginia, Mr. Israel, Mr. Fattah, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Berman, Ms. Bordallo, 
  Mr. Crowley, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Honda, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Mr. 
Davis of Illinois, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, 
Mr. Van Hollen, and Ms. Lee) submitted the following resolution; which 
            was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing sympathy to and pledging the support of the House of 
Representatives and the people of the United States for the victims of 
                  Cyclone Sidr in southern Bangladesh.

Whereas on November 15, 2007, Cylcone Sidr hit the coast of southern Bangladesh 
        with 155 mile-an-hour winds that smashed tens of thousands of homes, 
        damaged roads and buildings, and caused a 16-foot tidal surge that 
        ruined thousands of hectares of crops;
Whereas early reports have branded the destruction from Cyclone Sidr as the 
        worst in Bangladesh in 16 years;
Whereas the resulting damage from the cyclone is estimated to have affected 
        4,000,000 people so far through evacuation from and loss of their homes;
Whereas over half of the affected internally displaced population are children, 
        an estimated 400,000 of whom are under the age of 5;
Whereas Bangladesh's Disaster Ministry now estimates that the homes of over 
        750,000 people were damaged or destroyed;
Whereas the death toll from the cyclone is already at 3,500 and continues to 
        climb;
Whereas the Bangladesh Red Crescent has warned that the number of dead could 
        ultimately be as high as 10,000;
Whereas as the 5 districts in southern Bangladesh that were most drastically 
        affected by the cyclone are Patuakhali, Barguna, Bagerhat, Barisal, and 
        Pirojpur;
Whereas hundreds of thousands of people in remote areas of Patuakhali and 
        Barguna are currently cut off from relief operations, which has caused 
        widespread starving and suffering from the lack of access to drinking 
        water and medicines;
Whereas one relief worker commented that Bagerhat looked like a ``valley of 
        death'' in the days after the storm;
Whereas an entire island in Barisal, another district of southern Bangladesh, 
        was submerged under at least 6 feet of water and houses were blown away 
        by winds;
Whereas in Pirojpur it is estimated that it will take at least 1 week to restore 
        the power supply;
Whereas the capital, Dhaka, which is located over 130 miles away from the 
        devastated southern coastline, was also impacted by storm, losing access 
        to power and water for days;
Whereas a massive tidal wave that was caused by Cyclone Sidr hit the Sunderbans, 
        the world's biggest mangrove forest that is home to the endangered Royal 
        Bengal tiger, leaving a wake of death and destruction that have caused 
        experts to declare the forest an ``ecological disaster'';
Whereas officials at the United Nations World Food Program have appealed for 
        international aid to help save lives in Bangladesh, noting that food 
        supplies have been severely disrupted by the cyclone and that there was 
        risk of famine; and
Whereas, due to the limited access to water supply and sanitation facilities 
        that millions of Bangladeshis will face, health officials have begun 
        warning against the serious possibility of cholera, dysentery, and other 
        waterborne diseases: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses its heartfelt sympathy for the victims of 
        Cyclone Sidr, which has affected southern Bangladesh;
            (2) conveys its sincere support to the people of 
        Bangladesh;
            (3) urges the United States Government to immediately make 
        available all appropriate assistance requested by the 
        Bangladeshi authorities; and
            (4) reaffirms its commitment to provide relief aid to the 
        victims as the effects of the cyclone continue to unfold.
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