Bangladesh: life after cyclone Aila – in pictures

The construction of dykes to keep flood waters at bay has been central to relief efforts in south-west Bangladesh. Here, people are shown walking in a flood-affected area Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF Photograph: Richard Hanson/Action images New houses built in flooded areas have been constructed on elevated platforms that raise them several feet above the highest known level of the surrounding waters Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF Photograph: Richard Hanson/Action images Float planes, used by the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), take less than an hour to reach south-west Bangladesh from Dhaka, saving NGO workers a 16-hour bus trip Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF Photograph: Richard Hanson/Action images The elevated housing erected behind the protection of the dykes includes toilet facilities provided by the international Red Cross and Red Crescent movement Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF Photograph: Richard Hanson/Action images Assisted by a loan from the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, Tahermina has established a small sewing business in Amadi, a village in south-west Bangladesh Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF Rokeya and her husband, Mohbaba, received a small business loan to raise chickens in a house constructed in the aftermath of cyclone Alia Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF Photograph: Richard Hanson/Action images Pupils at a newly-built school in Amadi. MAF transported journalists into the areas hit by cyclone Alia, also helping government agencies to devise crisis response strategies Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF Photograph: Richard Hanson/Action images Farmers in flood-affected areas of south-west Bangladesh grow saline-resistant rice, protecting crops from the storm surges that allow sea water to gush into the fields Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF Photograph: Richard Hanson/Action images A school near Amadi teaches disaster preparedness. The school is supported by Brac, a Bangladesh-based development organisation that works to reduce poverty Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF Photograph: Richard Hanson/Action images Brac aims to empower the poor to bring about change in their own lives. In Amadi, that meant helping locals to rear shrimps to generate income Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF Photograph: Richard Hanson/Action images An aerial view of shrimp farms in south-western Bangladesh illustrates the crucial need for solid flood defences Photograph: Richard Hanson/MAF