East Pakistan – Cyclone Protection and
Coastal Area Rehabilitation Project

NUMBER 040
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: MAY 2005




                           January 2016
The World Bank Group Archives Exhibit Series contains exhibits originally
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East Pakistan – Cyclone Protection and Coastal Area
Rehabilitation Project

The cyclone ravaged the area leaving
behind destroyed houses, roads and
bridges, huge holes in the streets and
enormous erosion along the streams.

The World Bank Group responded
with a telegram from President
McNamara to President Yahya Khan
of Pakistan pledging World Bank
assistance to help areas of East
Pakistan devastated by the cyclone:
“The Executive Directors of the Bank
and IDA met in special session today        Typical damage to native dwellings as a result
                                              of the cyclone in East Pakistan, November
and unanimously supported my                                     1970
proposal that the World Bank Group of
Institutions should make a special
effort to help your country in the reconstruction of the areas of East Pakistan
devastated by the recent cyclone.� (World Bank Press Release, November 18,
1970)

On January 12, 1971 the International Development Association (IDA) approved
                                         a credit of US $25 million for Cyclone
                                         Protection and Coastal Area
                                         Rehabilitation Project to assist in
                                         rebuilding the economy of East
                                         Pakistan devastated by the cyclone
                                         and in providing the population of the
                                         region with some protection facilities.
                                         This was the first reconstruction credit
                                         for IDA.

                                                The World Bank is the largest funder
                                                of disaster recovery and reconstruction
                                                in the world, lending more than $40
 Holes five feet deep appeared in the streets
of East Pakistan after the cyclone, November
                                                billion for over 550 disaster-related
                     1970                       projects. The followings are just a few
                                                examples:
   ï‚·   In 1961, the Bank financed the Highway Maintenance Project in Chile to
       rehabilitate the roads devastated by earthquakes in May 1960.
   ï‚·   In 1979 the Bank approved the loan for Emergency Road Reconstruction
       in Dominican Republic after two major hurricanes in September 1979.
   ï‚·   On March 16, 1987 Bank sent a delegation to the first Donors Conference
       of the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development held in
       Djibouti, Ethiopia. IGADD’s major goal is to fight the effects of drought and
       other natural disasters in the region.
   ï‚·   The World Bank sponsored the Colloquium on the Environment and
       Natural Disaster Management on June 27-28, 1990 in Washington, D.C.
       The issues discussed at the conference could be grouped around four
       main topics: strategic issues, development (from vulnerability to
       resilience), risk management, and the coordination of efforts to reduce
       vulnerability to disaster.

The World Bank continues to actively participate in disaster management and
rehabilitation projects and programs. The Bank is currently taking a major role in
the recent tsunami recovery efforts in South Asia.