Children's Emergency Fund
Nobody knows when the next crisis will strike, but your support helps Save the Children provide assistance in the critical first hours and days of an emergency when children need us most. When generous people like you make your 100% tax-deductible gift, children's lives are saved and their futures are brighter.

Deadly Cyclone Amphan Makes Landfall in India, Bangladesh Amid COVID-19 

Millions of people in India and Bangladesh braced for Cyclone Amphan as their communities continue to deal with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 39 million people across both countries, many of them children, were at risk exposure to the destruction of the cyclone, which peaked at a Category 5 storm on Monday. Officials report more than 80 deaths related to the disaster, with that number expected to rise. 

Cyclone Amphan made landfall as a Category 2 in the Bay of Bengal near the border of eastern India and Bangladesh on Wednesday, May 20. Both countries experienced widespread wind damage, storm surges and flooding, and significant of rainfall. Families living in poverty have been particularly vulnerable to these effects of the cyclone.

Millions living in high-risk areas were advised to quickly evacuate, but also to maintain appropriate social distancing to contain the spread of the coronavirus, by India’s National Disaster Response Force. 

Cyclone Amphan hit one of Bangladesh’s most vulnerable populations – the nearly 900,000 Rohingya refugees settled in Cox’s Bazar, as the storm weakened and moved further into Bangladesh. The first cases of COVID-19 were recently confirmed in the refugee camp and, coupled with the impacts of the cyclone, could create an even more dire circumstance and make containing the spread of the virus even more difficult.

Save the Children has been working in India since the 1960s and in Bangladesh since 1970 to respond to the needs of children and families every day and in times of crisis. One year ago, when Cyclone Fani threatened India, Save the Children deployed a team of specialists to assist with shelter, household and school materials distribution.

“This area is prone to cyclones, we have almost one every other year,” said Vikas Gora, Save the Children’s General Manager for Southern India. “Save the Children has been helping communities to prepare by training warning groups and rescue groups.”

How can I help children and families impacted in emergencies?

Nobody knows when the next crisis will strike, but your support helps Save the Children provide assistance in the critical first hours and days of an emergency when children need us most. When generous people like you make your 100% tax-deductible gift, children's lives are saved and their futures are brighter.

Donate to the Children's Emergency Fund today.

[i]  Pacific Disaster Center – Tropical Cyclone Activity Report