DISASTERIN
BANGLADESH

Facts about Bangladesh
Total Population: 130 million
 890 people per square kilometer in Bangladesh where
30 in the USA 85% people live in rural area
 literacy rate for female 20% and 35% for male.
 Per capita Income is only US$ 290
 Life Expectancy 59 years for both sexes1Economy
60% of Bangladesh household are without sufficientland to produce enough food for their family
 20% of Bangladeshi do not have any land for homestead Agriculture is the life line of economy, contributes 36%
of GDP and employer of 66% of total labor force.
 70% of the effective land area of the country is undercrop production.
Above mentioned factors along the geographic location
make the country complex to the disaster.
Bangladesh is one of the most disaster prone country in
the world.
 The major natural disaster are flood, cyclone, tornado
river bank erosion and drought.
 The damage caused by these hazards to humansettlements, physical property, animals and human lives
have been enormous.
2

Disaster
Prone
Areas

FLOOD
 Flood is found to be a frequent disaster event in

Bangladesh.

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Two major floods that caused havoc to the country in1988(affected 62% land—dead 2380) and 1998(68%land-dead 918)) are considered to be worst in theliving memory.
 Almost every year flood damages human settlements,
crops and properties, kill human and livestock, disrupt
transportation and communication network, damages
roads and development infrastructure, causes scarcity offood and water, spreads water borne diseases, bringmiseries and sufferings to the people; slow down
development process of economic growth of the country4

Reason for Flood
The flood is caused by a combination of following
several factors:
1. Huge flows of rainfall and snow melt from
Himalayas across the boarder
2. Poor Drainage system
3. High tide in the Bay
4. Excessive silt load in the river due to soil
erosion5

CYCLONE
Bangladesh has 710 k.m long coastal belt(southern part)and entire belt is exposed to the potential danger ofcyclone.
 75% occurs during spring and autumn.
 The impact of cyclone 1970 and April 1991 was severe.
 A wave of up to 9-12 meters was produced by these two
cyclone Killed 300,000 people in 1970 and 138,000 in 1991
 Besides the death toll nearly 4 million people lost theirhomes in 1991.


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

The reasons why so many people died were found to bepoor housing, high population density, too few andinadequate shelters, problems with signals and warnings,
perceptions (many people believe in widespread myth
due to lack of knowledge), vulnerability of particulargroups, unavailability of trees as life savers. Also, there
was a significant difference in the death rates in both sex
and age; namely, females, children and the elderly dieddisproportionately more than others.

TORNADO
They are common in the central part of Bangladesh 75% of them occur during monsoon period
 In 1989 a major tornado affected Manikganj and Dhaka
district and left over 100,000 homeless,more than
10,000 people injured and 800 people dead in a coupleof minutes
 many people were blown away at a considerable
distance (one person was blown over 1.5 km)
 605 persons were killed in the districts of Jamalpur andTangail on 13 May 1996.


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

DROUGHTSouth west and north west regions of Bangladesh aredrought prone area.
 Occurs during pre-monsoon because of uncertainty inrainfall During dry season due to prevalence of dry days andlack of moisture Major crops are affected by drought resulting substantial
loss in crop yield.


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

RIVER BANK EROSION There are 230 rivers and canals in the

country(7.5 of total area)
 River erosion is common in the rainy seasonsand it takes a serious turn during the flood
 Carries away land and destroys houses
 App. One million people are affected every year

9

EARTHQUAKEEarthquakes are the most deadly of natural disasters
affecting the human environment.
 Bangladesh has not been affected by the earthquakes
since ancient time. Affected by small earthquake
occasionally.
 No record of tsunamis hitting coastal area
 Bangladesh is the the world’s most densely populatedarea,any future earthquake shall affect more people perunit area than any regions of the world.
 There is a urgent need for educating the public anddecision maker about the threat of earthquake.
Vulnerable Groups

Statistics: from the total death 75% are women and older people Almost others: Children under 12

years

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The cause of death of Children and
women
1.They are physically weak and illiterate
2. Long hair and dress of women is an obstacle
3. They are not aware of coping mechanism
4. They are not empowered to take decision at the critical
moment in absence of men.
5. Lack of their participation in disaster management
activities
6. They do not understand warning signals
7.They love their small property so they donot want to leave
their houses

Coordination in designing Disaster
Reduction SystemNatural calamities brings tremendous strain on theeconomy of the country.The poorer the country,thegreater the number of victims and adverse effects on its
economyBut disaster mitigation can be planned.This has beenpracticed as part of traditional coping mechanisms.
However Disaster management actions maybe described
into the two broad categories:
1. Structural and 2.Non-Structural

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Structural/Direct
1. Land Use Planning:In order to reduce the effect of
Cyclones on detached island, some afforestation projects
have been already implemented.
2.Embankment Building in offshore island,coastal areasand some river banks
3.Road Construction:Roads are required in the disasterprone area for pre-disaster evacuation and post-disaster
relief and rehabilitation operation.
4.Construction of strong cyclone shelters:Still inadequate
compared with the number of vulnerable population.

Non-Structural/Indirect
Standing Order: Duties and responsibilities of various
ministries,Departments and other organization working
for disaster cooperation.
 Forecasting and warning system(11 signals for Seaportand 4 signals for River ports)
 Disaster management subject in school level Disaster management session in all types of Training
Institute Community Involvement: not systematic due to lack ofpolicy and awareness.Now Govt. decided to implement
disaster management committees in the grassroots level
through strengthening the local government.
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Major Actors for coordination
1. National Government Agencies
2. Defense forces
3. NGO’s/International Organizations etc.

Main Government Organization
 Ministry of disaster Management andRelief(MDMR)
 Disaster Management Bureau(DMB) Directorate General of Relief andRehabilitation(DGRR)

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National Disaster management council
Inter-Ministerial Disaster coordination Committee
Ministry of Disaster management and Relief

DMB

DGRR

Role of MDMR
Focal point of the Govt. for Disaster related issues
 Review the own action plan of the ministry on disastermanagement every 3 months
 Control the activities of all officials engaged for
emergency relief Identify the disaster prone area and population affectedby the disaster Issue necessary orders for proper coordination of steps
relating to disaster and response.
 Keep the Emergency operation center (EOC)open day
and night during the warning stage


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

Role of DMB
1.To Coordinate Disaster Management activities
2.To organize Training and Public Awareness activities
3.To promote prevention and preparedness at all levels on
various disaster4. To collect data and dissemination information.
5.To work with local authorities,line agencies and NGOs todevelop their action plans and increase their own
capacity.
6.To organize logistic arrangement in connection with
Disaster Management15Role of DGRR
Inform the ministry about the requirement of reliefmaterials
 Relief preparedness in the affected area
 Ensure quick dispatch of relief materials
 Ensure stock and maintenance of adequate materials in
disaster-prone areas
 Ensure proper accounting-keeping of the use of allotted
relief materials


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

Role Of Cyclone Preparedness
Program(CPP)
CPP of Red Crescent Society has its 33,000 well trained
male and female volunteers spreading over the coastal
belt of Bangladesh motivate people at grass-root level for rescue andshelter during crisis period such as disseminate cyclone
warning,rescue and provide first aid to injured people
 Organize preparedness program in disaster prone areas
 Assist relief and rehabilitation operation & community
capacity build up activities.


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

Role of Armed Forces

The armed forces play significant role in post disaster relief
operation.
1.Effective chain of command ensures quick response inmobilization.
2.can provide various types of transportation facilities onland,air and sea to reach relief materials to the affectedareas.
3.Undertake any rescue,relief and reconstruction works bydeploying well-trained,energetic and disciplined troops.
4.Can Provide good number of medical and engineering
teams to meet immediate needs.

18Role of NGO’s
 NGOs in Bangladesh have earned high credibility

for intervening in post disaster situation very
quickly with emergency survival relief.
 There are more than 25,000 NGOs registeredwith different dept.,therefore Bangladesh is theland of NGO’s.Most of the NGO’s are depended
on foreign donors.
 Most NGO’s are involved in health, sanitation,
infrastructure, education, agriculture, ruraldevelopment and income generation program.

Expert Opinion
For disastermitigation

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Coping with DisasterThree steps:
1.Immediate Steps
2.Midterm steps
3.Long term Steps
These steps should not viewed in isolation.They areparts of an integrated process needed for Disastermanagement and should be implemented simultaneously.

Immediate Steps
Identifying vulnerable group:major victim
 Need for people’s participation

Need for social mapping:social vulnerability map

helps in identifying remote flood affected areas.
 Preventing politically motivated use of relief:The
more needy areas are often neglected Scarcity of Safe drinking water:main cause of
suffering for the flood victims
Combating water borne diseases:diarrhea, skindiseases etc.

20Mid-term steps



Agricultural Rehabilitation:Immediate need for making

Employment Generation,micro credit program:Linked withseeds and loans available to the farmer

agricultural rehabilitation and rural credit,the NGO’s have
major role to play in this area
 Small Business and Industrial Rebuilding: rebuild thefactories and social security needs to create for industrial
workers.
 Macroeconomic issues:Damage assessment of various
sectors: a. Export oriented sectors(shrimp andgarments) b.Domestic market oriented sectors c.
infrastructure d.agricultureLong-term Steps
Flood forecasting Mechanism: need to be developedand strengthened.Creation of vulnerability maps andflood maps is crucial for developing an effective flood
management system.
 Drainage and maintenance of infrastructure:
Plans and strategies to prevent water logging in urban
areas.
21

Bottlenecks of Cooperation and
Coordination
1.Absence of clear understanding about the responsibilities

and proper coordination among the organization andofficers for relief operation.It results
disorganized,overlapping and ineffective response.
2.Lack of training in emergency coordination with otheractors in disaster management
3.Ignoring the NGO’s participation in the planning processof Disaster management.
4 .Non-availability of authenticated lists of vulnerable
peopleNegative Impact of Development
Projects
1.Unplanned physical interventions on natural drainage
path have caused many local flood problems
A huge number of roads are constructed by the local govt. without
considering the impacts of water flow in rainy season and flood.

2.Indiscriminate cutting of trees made the coastal areas
more vulnerable to the cyclone.
Illegal logging and shrimp cultivation turned the covered resourcefulcoastal area into naked and most vulnerable coastal area

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Recommendation to improve
Coordination
1.A clear definition of authority
2.More survey in disaster area
3.Mobile communication and more equipment.
4.Shifting from relief to prevention,mitigation andpreparedness
5.Building up local capacities
6. Adopting of a integrated approach
8. Linking disaster with development
9. Encouraging investment and research
10.Capitalizing on exiting technology and management
tools
11. Focusing on vulnerable groups.

My Research At ADRC
Flood or cyclone are not part of nature’s order,
something that has to be endured as a part of life.
 The concept of “live with flood” does not foster any
economic growth.
 The technical expertise for reduction of flood are readily
available.
 Disaster management approach emphasizes the need for
decreasing flood losses by comprehensive structural andnonstructural steps.
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Real Preparedness lies with the activities which reducethe vulnerability and increase the capacity of the people
and community so that they can face the disaster withcourage and recover rapidly.
 Development assistance and plan can be designed towork toward preventing and preparing for reducing
vulnerability.
 Both development and disaster preparedness assistancecan be based on as appreciation of local
competence,therefore promoting capacities.


Changing the Approach
Before drawing up any disaster management scheme,it isutmost important to investigate in details the following
factors
1.Identify the problem: information fails to reach the
population in danger, information is not properly
understood, ineffective response by the affective people
2.Find solution : poor communication, inadequate
education and training, acceptable way to flood
forecasting information etc.
3.Find alternatives:If any financial difficulties, finding thealternative solution in cheap way.

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Changes in Development Plan
For proper planning and management against disaster asystematic and well organized program is necessary. 4
stages of disaster management program:
1.Pre-Disaster mitigation:To reduce the impact of or
prevent disaster event,example:structural
measure,public education
2.Pre-Disaster Preparedness: a response plan for the floodis developed in advance,ex:a warning system is installed
and the people responsible for implementation of
preparedness are trained. Institutional mechanism for
implementation is specified.

3.Response to disaster:Activities which are
undertaken during arid immediately after
flood,such as emergency aid,evacuation to predesigned shelters,flood fighting and taking
measures for minimizing secondary damage andrecovery operation.
4.Post disaster recovery:support is provided for
return to normal life.

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Additional Approaches learnt inJapan Disaster Preparedness:Dissemination ofknowledge on disaster prevention, improvementof evacuation system,improvement of disasterprevention facilities and equipment.
 Countermeasure against Flood:River channel
improvement,construction of flood ways,floodgates and channel for adjusting the flow ofrivers etc.
 Countermeasure against drought:developmentof lakes and marshes

 Countermeasure against Landslides:Cut slope

planting,Constructing a concrete wall on theslope, piling and drainage
 Countermeasure against River Bankerosion:although no solution for theprotection,but the people, who live close to riverbank, may be provided portable house andInsurance system.(but rehabilitate them inplanned settlements in safer place and finding
job are the best solution)

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My future Plan
We(PKSF) are working closely with the government.
 Microcredit is useful tool to reduce poverty.It is very
effective for post-flood recovery stage because it createsjob.
 Besides credit operation, research is an importantcomponent of the institutional development program of
PKSF where we work with the BIDS(Bangladesh Instituteof Development studies),government research institutein Bangladesh.
 I was not specialized at Disaster field when I came to

ADRC, but ADRC has developed me in this field. When I
will return to PKSF, I wish to work at Research division
specialized in Disaster management.
 I will approach my recommendation to DMB, MDMR andBIDS.
 I also want to handle disaster management Fund.
 I have also plan to take master degree/diploma in
Disaster management or Emergency and Risk
management27

Some Recommendations for
ADRC

1.

2.

Some member countries are not so cooperative inproviding information.We have to do something to
make them active.my suggestions are:ADRC can divide each Researcher for taking
responsibility for some countries.He will regularly
contact with the counterpart plus accumulating latest
disaster information from those countries.He can also
make visit once a year to each member country.
To make attractive, ADRC can take several innovative
steps or expand activities, maybe more cooperative
project with JICA and UN.

Since ADRC is dealing with disseminating information,
they can arrange some training program in member
countries where they will provide information to
government organization and NGO’s.
 ADRC may not limited to the one focal point of a all
Asian country.They should extend their boundaries withclose contact with the other organization.
 ADRC can arrange global disaster seminar in any certain
topic.
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Some suggestions for future VR
The V.R should be informed what ADRC expects from
him and what he will get from ADRC.The duties andresponsibilities should be provided and clearly defined
before coming to ADRC. They can be utilized more with
their usual/daily activities of ADRC.
 The culture of Japan is different from other Asian
countries.To be familiar with new environment,it takes
time specially creating working culture.I would notsuggest to extend the V.R program,but rather ADRC cankeep provision of research period in minimum 6 months
and maximum 12 months.
Japan is highly developed and technological country.I
think people can remember more things practically thanbooks.They should more extensive field visit to disaster
related organization.
 All researcher at ADRC attend international seminarfrequently.Most of VR from developing country does nothave any experience of any international seminar.They
must have curiosity what happen there.He should beallowed to attend one international seminar as an
optional where ADRC can provide him registration andaccommodation only.
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If it is not possible , they maybe allowed to attend
international expert meeting held in ADRC. As a future
leader in the country, it will give him the understandingof new vision. We, from third world country, read lot ofarticles of disaster mitigation process, but we have lackof sense new concept and cooperation.That’s why ADRC
is so active but we are not responsive.
 I understand that all of this steps will need more money
but I think if you think of objective of VR, I meandisaster reduction in Asian region,I think it should bepart of research.
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