Bangladesh is a deltaic land. It is surrounded by Bay of Bengal on one side. It is also within the reach of Himalayan range. Three big and mighty rivers such as the Padma, the Jamuna and the Meghna flow through this plain land. So its geographical location has made Bangladesh too much vulnerable to natural calamities like flood, cyclone, earthquake, drought, erosion, etc. Man cannot stop these natural disasters. What we can do is to minimize the loss and damage of lives and properties through early and improved warning system, capacity building, adaptation, search, rescue and relief operations and rehabilitation. Here Bangladesh Navy can play an important and significant role. Among the government organizations Bangladesh Navy is the most suited organization to undertake disaster management activities, specially in the coastal areas and offshore islands. Bangladesh Navy has different kinds of ships and crafts, equipment and well-trained and skilled manpower to combat natural disaster. Since disasters also affect the ships and establishments of Navy, certain preventive measures have to be taken to safeguard lives and properties. When the safety of naval personnel and properties is ensured then ships and establishment coordinate with local authorities to prepare medical and relief teams and ships for dispatching to the affected areas. Sometimes if the local authorities cannot provide the necessary relief materials like medicines or foodstuffs in time, those are issued from the existing own stock. After the cyclone, Bangladesh Navy sends ships and personnel to sea to search for survivors and rescue them. Bangladesh Navy also sends ships and personnel to transport relief goods and medical and relief teams to offshore islands. Most Naval ships and crafts are fitted with good communication equipment, therefore, Naval ships are used as a communication link between inaccessible islands and different organisations. During floods shallow draught Naval ships are used to rescue stranded people and transport relief goods to the affected areas. Besides the disasters, Bangladesh Navy always remains ready and quite frequently carries out search and rescue operations of distressed merchant ships, boats and crafts, survivors from capsized and sunken fishing boats, trawlers and coasters, etc. Realising the gravity of disaster management and need of the nation, Navy remains prepared at all times to sharply and promptly respond to any call of disaster management activities and undertake any job within its capabilities, the nation may need. During normal times Navy ships and establishments remain ready to undertake long-term relief operations at short notice. Navy keeps contact with Meteorological Department and Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief for receiving of warning signals and takes required preparedness in advance. Navy also undertakes trainings for all personnel on rescue and rehabilitation activities. It examines the strength and weakness of own disaster management contingency plan through annual exercise as per standing orders and takes step to improve the existing standard. During alert stage Navy sends warning signals to all of its units after receiving from Meteorological Department and establishes disaster control cells at Naval Headquarters, Khulna and Chittagong areas. Navy also designates liaison officer for the Prime Ministers or Chief Adviser's Coordination cell and keeps contact with the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, and control room of Army and Air Force. During disaster stage Navy deploys required number of officers and men in control cells at NHQ in Dhaka and in Khulna and Chittagong areas. It also keeps all ships and Naval bases ready for immediate deployment. At the request of civil authority or following directives from the government Navy carries and distributes relief goods to the affected areas and provides medical assistance to the distressed people. During rehabilitation stage Navy assesses the damage of the affected areas and arranges necessary relief and rehabilitation activities. Navy also assists civil administration in distributing relief goods and continues this assistance till the situation becomes normal. The recent Cyclone Sidr and Bangladesh Navy: the cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh on 15 November 2007. Thousands of emergency officials including Armed Forces personnel were put on standby in advance of the storm's arrival. Massive evacuations of the residents of the low lying coastal areas also took place. A total of two million people were evacuated to emergency shelters. An emergency cabinet meeting decided to withdraw weekly leave for the government officials to join the evacuation process. Over 4 thousands Red Crescent volunteers were deployed to order residents in the 15 affected areas into special cyclone and flood shelters. The operation rooms were activated in Naval Headquarters and also in other Naval operation areas to monitor the cyclone Sidr from 14 November 2007. The role of Bangladesh Navy in post-SIDR relief and rehabilitation operations in cyclone affected areas was to assist the local administration to bring working discipline immediately after the catastrophe and subsequently in restoring normalcy in social and economic life of the disarrayed community through gradual rehabilitation process. Soon after forecasting signal No-10 by the Meteorological Department Bangladesh Navy contingent deployed in coastal areas of Dublar Char, Borguna sadar, Amtoli, Betagi, Patharghata, Bamna, Mongla, Bhola Sadar, Monpura, Borhanuddin, St. Martins, Maheshkhali, Kutubdia, Charfesson Sandwip and Hatiya ; assisted civil administration for evacuation of residents to safer places. It is mentionable that Bangladesh Navy contingent at St. Martins moved all the tourists to a safer place in the island. Immediately after the cyclone, eight BN ships sailed to different areas for search and rescue operations, port clearance and post-cyclone relief operations. Two BN ships reached Dublar Char area by afternoon of 16th November and provided dry and cooked food along with drinking water to the distressed people. Two ships deployed in Barisal area provided dry and cooked food and drinking water in Borguna district. BN ship sailed for the St. Martins reached at about midnight of 16 November and provided tourists and islanders with dry and cooked food along with drinking water. Consequently the ship arranged safe passage of the tourists to Teknaf on 17 November. Three other ships reached coastal areas by evening of 16 November for search and rescue operations. Due to difficulties to monitor all the activities from Dhaka, government established a local coordination centre at Barisal for speedy distribution of relief materials. Bangladesh Navy contingent deployed in coastal areas were strengthened and two separate focal points were established at Barisal and Mongla to enhance the ongoing relief operations. Five to six medium and smaller ships were deployed for transportation and distribution of relief materials to the remote places. Navy contingent also hired local boats for carrying relief materials to remote islands where BN ships cannot operate due to depth restrictions. Considering the limited carrying capacity of hello and fixed wing aircraft and huge stockpile of relief materials Armed Force Division directed Bangladesh Navy to mobilise bulk cargoes through river routes. Accordingly, BN coordinated with all the concerned maritime agencies for transportation and motivated them to carry these huge cargoes to the different cyclone-affected areas free of cost. Navy arranged transportation of huge relief items through civil launch to Barisal, Borguna, Pathorghata, Amtoli, Bagerhat, Patuakhali and Pirojpur. So far BN ships and contingent distributed relief materials mainly 10,290 tonnes of rice, 203 tons of dry food, 233 litres of drinking water, 31,525 pieces of blanket, huge amount of winter clothes and few construction materials. BN medical teams still are providing medical support to the distressed people of affected areas. Disaster management abroad: Bangladesh Navy sent two ships BNS SANGU and BNS TURAG to Sri Lanka and Maldives respectively after Tsunami hit these countries in 2005. BN ships and 105-member contingent worked in Sri Lanka and Maldives in relief and rescue operations and for medical assistance programme under operation "SAARC BONDHON" . Immediately after the disaster, Bangladesh government dispatched two helicopters and huge relief materials by a C-130 aircraft of Bangladesh Air Force. Later, Bangladesh Navy ships with more relief goods joined them to further gear up their relief operations in the worst hit areas of both the countries. Some difficulties Bangladesh Navy encountered while carrying out disaster relief operations in offshore islands and coastal areas in the past. These are lack of hydrographic surveys, lack of navigational aids, lack of means of communication, lack of suitable watercraft, etc. Most parts of Bangladesh coastline in the south and southwest areas were surveyed in 1930. Since then no full-scale survey has been carried out. So navigation in those areas is very difficult and risky. The most difficult part is that the silt in those areas shifts very frequently. Therefore, the depth of water is never known for sure. Besides there are many islands which are not even marked on the chart or maps. So, mere grounding of the ships could damage the underwater fittings and make it inoperative defeating the very purpose for which it was sent. There are no navigational aids or marks in those areas. So BN ships have to carry out simultaneous survey and then proceed. This process is time consuming and it delays the badly needed supplies of relief materials. In most of the small islands there are no means of communication except for physical inspection and reporting. This delays the whole process. At present there is no suitable craft with any agency of the government, except a few with the Bangladesh Navy, which can operate safely in shallow waters. The government should take appropriate measures to overcome these difficulties as the natural disaster is a regular phenomenon in our country and we have to live with these calamities. Bangladesh Navy is always prepared to combat the natural disaster with its ships and watercrafts, equipment and skilled manpower. (The writer is serving as Assistant Director, ISPR.)