Cyclone Fani has made landfall along the coast of Odisha in eastern India. Nineteen districts of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are likely to be hit as the storm is set to intensify over the next few hours. Around 800,000 people have already been evacuated to 880 shelters, and disaster response authority personnel have been deployed.

Aid agency CARE has been monitoring the progress of the cyclone closely and is set to respond to the imminent emergency in India and Bangladesh.

CARE’s Regional Project Director in Odisha, Shantamay Chatterjee said: “CARE has been working in Odisha for several years. We have been monitoring the situation closely, and taken necessary actions to respond to the impact of Cyclone Fani.”

There is great concern for the potential impact of the severe cyclone on vulnerable refugee families in Bangladesh. Over 1 million Rohingya refugees, along with millions of vulnerable host populations both in the southeast and southwest coastal region, are at risk of being impacted.

Zia Choudary, Country Director of CARE Bangladesh said, “Despite the high level of expertise the Government and NGOs have in preparing and responding to crises, the real concern this year is for the Rohingya Refugees.”

“The densely populated Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar are susceptible to deadly mudslides triggered by torrential rainfall. The concentration of the one million displaced Rohingya people in Cox’s Bazar is now among the densest in the world and, even if the region is not hit directly, the impacts of Cyclone Fani will create havoc.”

CARE has pre-positioned stocks of emergency relief kits including shelter and hygiene items which will be distributed quickly should the need arise.

During any response of this nature, CARE is especially sensitive to the needs of the most disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalised populations which include women and girls.

To donate to CARE’s Global Emergency Fund, visit www.care.org.au/fani or call 1800 DONATE (1800 020 046).

For interviews with CARE staff in India and Bangladesh, contact Olivia Zinzan on 0412 449 691