Bangladesh Flood

Question 1

What were the natural causes of the 2004 Bangladesh flood?

Answer 1

1) Monsoon (May-September) torrential rain, up to 1 meter per day
2) Large drainage basin includes Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna
3) Bangladesh is a low lying flood plain

Question 2

What were the human causes of the 2004 Bangladesh flood?

Answer 2

1) Rapid population growth (doubled in last 40 years), leading to urbanisation
2) Deforestation in Bangladesh and India
3) Nepal and China - increased irrigation so more silt in river reducing capacity of river. This is called aggradation
4) Global warming - increased melting of snow and ice in Himalayas

Question 3

What were the impacts of the 2004 Bangladesh flood?

Answer 3

1) Approximately 38% of the total land area was flooded
2) 800,000 hectares of agricultural land flooded
3) 36 million people were made homeless
4) 800 deaths
5) 2.2 billion dollars of damage