Presentation will address the following Disaster Vulnerability of Bangladesh Disaster Management Mechanism in Bangladesh Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies of Bangladesh Challenges and Recommendations

1. Sajid Karim
Research Officer
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS)
08 SEPTEMBER 2015
1
DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN
BANGLADESH: RISK
REDUCTION AND CHALLENGES

2. Introduction
2
 Bangladesh is a South Asian country with a population of
160 million living in 147,570 sq. km.
 Bangladesh is 6th in the top 10 countries with highest risk
of disasters (Global Climate Risk Index 2015).
 Among top 10 deadliest tropical cyclones in the human
history, Bangladesh had 6 of them
 Bangladesh ranked 2nd in flood risk index (more than 80%
population exposed to flood)
 Right after USA, Bangladesh is the 2nd most vulnerable
country to tornado disaster
 10 million people of the country are affected by one or
more natural disaster annually.

3. 3
 Struggling against natural disasters, facing and
learning to live with it and constant threat of climate
change and global warming have enabled the people of
Bangladesh to cope with disasters and to adopt
different disaster management strategies for their own
survival
 Bangladesh has developed an efficient system of
disaster management which has evolved from a
“reactive humanitarian relief” approach to a
“proactive disaster risk reduction” approach.
Introduction

4. Scope
4
Presentation will address the following
 Disaster Vulnerability of Bangladesh
 Disaster Management Mechanism in Bangladesh
 Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies of Bangladesh
 Challenges and Recommendations

5. Disaster Vulnerability in Bangladesh
5
During the period of 1991-2000, the country
has suffered from 93 large scale natural
disasters .
Total people killed during that period –
200,000
Total loss of properties valued about US$ 59
billion

6. Disaster Vulnerability in Bangladesh
6
Urban Disasters
Salinity
Intrution
Arsenic Contamination
Landslide
Earthquake
River Bank Erotion
Tornado
Drought
Cyclone
Flood
Major
Disasters in
Bangladesh

7. Damage Statistics of Major Disasters
in Bangladesh
7
Table: Disaster Statistics of Bangladesh
Disasters Time # of Events Total
Killed
Total
Affected
Flood 1907-2004 64 50,310 369,678,15
6
Cyclone 1907-2004 137 614,112 63,817,281
Drought 1907-2004 - 18 25,002,000
Tornado 1961-1996 199 10,766 -

8. Disaster Management Mechanism in
Bangladesh
8
Regulatory Framework
 Institutional Structure

9. Regulatory Framework
9

10. Regulatory Framework
10

11. Regulatory Framework
11

12. Institutional Structure
12

13. Comprehensive Disaster Management
Programme (CDMP)
13
 CDMP is a flagship collaborative initiative of the
Bangladesh Ministry of Disaster Management and
Relief (MoDMR) and UNDP.
 Community based disaster management programmes
are now institutionalised in local government through
CDMP

14. Civil-Military Cooperation
14
Three phases of disaster management by AFD
Pre disaster stage
During
disaster or
emergency
stage
Post disaster
stage

15. Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies of
Bangladesh
15

16. Flood Risk Reduction Strategies
Structural Measures Non-structural Measures
16
Construction of 12,850
km of embankments
25,580 km of drainage
channel and
4,190 sluices and
regulators
Flood Forecasting and
Warning Centre collects
real-time data of water
level (3 hourly) from 55
observation stations and
amount of rainfall from
56 observation stations
to issues river stage
forecast in flood prone
areas

17. Cyclone Risk Reduction Strategies
17
Table: Major Cyclones that Hit the Bangladesh Coast
Date Maximum Wind
Speed (km/h)
Storm Surge
Height (meters)
Death Toll
12 November 1970 224 6.0-10.0 300,000
29 April 1991 225 6.0-7.6 138,882
29 May 1997 232 3.1-4.6 155
15n November 2007
(SIDR)
240 3.0 3363
25 May 2009 (AILA) 140 3.0 180

18. Cyclone Risk Reduction Strategies
18
Building of Multipurpose Cyclone
Shelter
Cyclone Preparedness Programme
(CPP)
Coastal Afforestation

19. Cyclone Risk Reduction Strategies
19
 Building of
Multipurpose Cyclone
Shelter
In total there are some
2,200 cyclone shelters in
the coastal areas of
Bangladesh at present.
Another 4l00 are under
construction.

20. Cyclone Risk Reduction Strategies
20
 Cyclone Preparedness
Programme (CPP)
Under cyclone
preparedness progeamme
42,675 devoted volunteers
are working over 195
unions of the coastal belt
of Bangladesh to spread
warning against
approaching cyclones.

21. Cyclone Risk Reduction Strategies
21
 Coastal Afforestation
Over the last four decades,
approximately 148,000
hectare of land have bought
under mangrove plantation
programme with a view to
reduce the impact of
cyclones in the coastal
areas on Bangladesh.

22. Drought Risk Reduction Strategies
22
Invention of drought
tolerant rice varieties
such as BRRI DHAN-
56, BRRI DHAN-57
Cash transfer and
Employment generation
programmes (VGD,
VGF, TR, GR)
Installation of Deep
Tube-well

23. Tornado Risk Reduction Strategies
23
 Standing order on
Disaster Management
(SOD) of Government
of Bangladesh explicitly
indentifies the role of
Union Disaster
Management Committee
(UDMC) for tornados
 There are 28 weather
stations in the country to
forecast tornado.

24. Riverbank Erosion Risk Reduction
Strategy
24
 Building of
embankments and
barrages

25. Arsenic Risk Reduction Strategies
25
 Implementation of National Policy
for Arsenic Mitigation 2004
 Filtration process (e.g. Sonofilter,
three pitcher filter, shapla filter etc.)

26. Salinity Risk Reduction Strategies
26
 Invention of salinity
tolerant rice varieties like
BRRI Dhan-40, BRRI
Dhan-41, BRRI Dhan-47,
BINA-7, BINA-8 etc

27. Earthquake Risk Reduction Strategies
27
Ministry of Disaster Management and
Relief along with other wings of
government has been working under CDMP
since 2007 to mitigate country’s earthquake
vulnerability

28. Challenges and Recommendations
28
Adverse Impact of Climate Change

29. Challenges and Recommendations
Adverse Impact of Climate
Change Recommendations
29
 Pattern of natural disasters
and their frequency and
intensity has changed many
fold due to climate change.
The relative sea level in
Bay of Bengal is predicted
to rise 0.83 to 1.53 cm by
the year 2050.
 Emission of GHG has
adverse impact on flood and
drought
National, Regional and
International
cooperation is needed.
Strict compliance on
International Treaties
and Protocols regarding
GHG emission.

30. Challenges and Recommendations
Challenges of Flood Risk
Reduction Recommendations
30
Failure of embankment
approach
Riverbed aggradation
Limitation of flood early
warning system
Absence of land use
regulation
 Open up approach
 Re-excavation and
dredging
 Prevent soil erosion
 Development of flood
early warning system
 Strict land use regulation
 Flood and crop insurance
 Flood Emergency
Preparedness Plan
 Regional Cooperation

31. Challenges and Recommendations
Challenges of Cyclone Risk
Reduction Strategies Recommendations
31
 Limitations of cyclone
early warning system
 Inadequate number of
cyclone shelters
 Absence of cyclone
resilient housing
 Absence of social safety
net
 Lack of medical coverage
 Development of cyclone
early warning system
 Building of adequate number
of cyclone shelters
 Capacity development of
people living in the coastal
areas
 Long term cyclone
mitigation measures like
cyclone resilient housing,
expansion of bio-shield,
development of cyclone
contingency plan

32. Challenges and Recommendations
Challenges of Drought
Risk Reduction Recommendations
32
Failure of employment
generation and cash
transfer programme
Threat to food security
Creates social
imbalance
 Protection of surface water
and reservation of monsoon
water
 Conventional measures like
re-excavation of mini pond,
installation of deep tubewell
 Non-conventional measures
like “floating shade ball”,
“rain water harvesting”
 Development of drought
early warning system
 Non-structural measures

33. Challenges and Recommendations
Challenges of Tornado
Risk Reduction Recommendations
33
Inadequate number of
weather stations to
forecast tornados
Lack of real time
database
Lack of tornado resilient
housing
Building of tornado
resilient housing
Development of early
warning system
Adequate number of
weather stations
Community based
preparedness

34. Challenges and Recommendations
Burden of Over Population Recommendations
34
 13th most densely populated
country of the world.
 Intensity the impact of
disasters
 Pressurising country’s
limited resources
 Limited government’s ability
to provide necessary
assistance
 Cause environmental
degradation
 Conventional measures
like providing education,
building awareness,
family planning, stopping
polygamy and early
marriage.
 Non-conventional
measure like imposing
penalty on parents having
more than two kids

35. Challenges and Recommendations
Lack of Disaster Related
Data Recommendations
35
Database management
in Bangladesh is still in
its infant stage
Most of the data
available from BMD is
error prone, inaccurate
and incomplete
Access to data is
extremely difficult
 All data related to
environment and disaster
should be easily
accessable
 BMD should be equipped
with modern technology
 Bureaucratic inertia and
administrative complexity
must be reduced

36. Challenges and Recommendations
Unplanned Urbanisation Recommendations
36
Vulnerable to
earthquake
Drainage problem and
water logging
Limitations of
Bangladesh Fire
Service and Civil
Defence (FSCD)
 Detailed Area Plan (DAP)
of the city
 Implementation of
building code
 Land use regulation
 Decentralization and
relocation of
administrative and
business centres
 Development of FSCD

37. Challenges and Recommendations
Absence of effective regional
and sub-regional cooperation Recommendation
37
Ineffectiveness of
“SAARC Framework of
Action”
Failure to negotiate with
neighbouring countries
regarding water sharing
agreement
 Effective regional and
international cooperation
 Joint agreement on
procurement of expensive
equipments necessary for
rescue operation
 Water sharing agreement
with neighbouring
countries

38. Way Forward
38
Even with all in mitigation and preparatory measures in
place natural disasters would continue to strike the
country and probably these would strike with more
frequencies and greater intensities in future. The
challenge would be how efficiently these damages are
managed, how best the affected people are rescued and
provided relief and rehabilitation assistance in a humane
and transparent manner, how fast the damaged houses
and infrastructure are reconstructed and how quickly the
pre-disaster situations are restored and normal life
bounces back to its rhythm. We have to understand that
disaster management is a holistic and comprehensive
approach which requires effective cooperation from all
part of the society

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