Monitoring Cyclone Fani

Millions evacuated as severe storm threatens India and Bangladesh

Photo from response to Cyclone Aila in 2009.

ShelterBox is closely monitoring Cyclone Fani (pronounced ‘Fonni’) as the cyclone progresses north over India and Bangladesh.  It will bring strong winds, heavy rain, and coastal storm surges of up to 1.5 meters. 

Over 1.4 million people living in vulnerable, low-lying areas of India and Bangladesh have been evacuated to shelters. 

While it is too soon to predict the scale of the damage and the related need for emergency shelter, we’re ready to help if our aid is suitable and we have the teams and resources available to help affected families. 

We will gather all the information we can in the coming days – from humanitarian agencies on the ground, news reports, Rotary contacts, local partners and others – to build a better picture of whether we can help. 

We have previously supported families with emergency shelter in Bangladesh, including in Rohingya refugee camps and areas affected by flooding in 2017 and 2018. 

The worst of the cyclone is unlikely to hit the areas of Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, where the Rohingya refugee camps are based. 

We will keep you, our supporters, updated as soon as we know more. 

Our previous work in Bangladesh