DISASTER AND BANGLADESH

DISASTER AND BANGLADESH

Bangladesh is beset with a myriad of natural disasters. Tropical cyclones, tidal surges, tornados, floods, droughts and large-scale riverbank erosion all wreak havoc on the lives and livelihoods of the population. The country’s propensity to natural disasters is due to various environmental factors and its geographical location. Recent estimates suggest that about 4 percent of the world’s cyclones hit Bangladesh and that damage and losses to the country amount to about 96 percent of the global total. In November 1970, Bangladesh’s coastal regions were devastated by a cyclone that killed more than 300,000 people and caused over $2.5 billion of property damage. More recently, floods in 1988 and 1998 brought immense suffering to the population. Agricultural production was disrupted and the country’s economy was severely affected in 1998, when nearly two thirds of the country was under water for three months. Bangladeshis and their government are doing their best to prevent and mitigate natural disasters, but there is an overwhelming need to strengthen the country’s disaster preparedness and management capabilities.

The risk calculus for vulnerable groups within society and infrastructure will be enormous and hence the urgent need to design strategy that would outline the development of standard instruments for disaster prevention and preparedness as well as the organizational mechanisms for plan implementation. The underlying assumption, as indicated in the Policy document, is that disaster prevention and preparedness are crucial entry points for disaster risk reduction