EAST PAKISTAN DISASTER

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29342, 22 October 1960, Page 7

EAST PAKISTAN DISASTER

Magnitude Shocks Nation

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) DACCA (East Pakistan), Oct. 19. News of the magnitude of the cyclone pnd tidal wave disaster in East' Pakistan came as a stupefying surprise to the people of this country nearly a week after the event on October 10. Today the public is still without a complete account of what happened when the worst tidal wave in living memory swept over the offshore islands and coastal belt in the Ganges Delta area, killing an estimated 3000 people and rendering hundreds of thousands homeless. First reports from the fringe of the stricken area-recorded isolated casualties totalling a score or so.

Three days later alarming reports began to trickle in from some of the larger offshore islands connected by radio with the district headquarters. Last Sunday, East Pakistan’s Governor, General Mohammed Azam Khan, decided to check on the reports himself and visited most of the district headquarters on the mainland. Officials in his party were aghast as they totted up the casualty figures. Told of the estimate of 3000 deaths, General Azam exclaimed: “Surely not. It cannot be more than 1500.” But most officials agree that the original estimate will be exceeded. The count may not be complete for weeks. Full reports and an assessment of the extent of the damage are not expected for another three or four days. Steamers with food and othgr supplies are on their way to the worst-hit areas. But bad communications are still hampering relief activities.