Case Study Bangladesh Flood Flashcards
Rivers?
Rivers Brahmaputra, Ganges and Meghna
Date?
July-September 2008
Location?
Bangladesh in South Asia -capital is Dhaka
Background?
Monsoon flooding is an annual event in Bangladesh but some years are worse than others
Causes: physically- weather?
Melting snow from Himalayas as summer approached & heavy monsoon rains of 8308mm in July 2004 meant huge volumes of water was entering river system at the same time - too much for channel to hold.
Causes: physically-rivers?
Confluence of 3 huge rivers, the Brahmaputra, Ganges and Meghna drain a combined catchment area of 110 hectares and huge volumes of water from these rivers were funnelled towards Bangladesh where the rivers meet
Causes: physically - Bangladesh?
50% of Bangladesh is less than 5m above sea level and so country is essentially one huge river delta and is very vulnerable to flooding
Causes: human -deforestation?
Deforestation in Himalayas reduces interception and therefore unprotected soil becomes compacted with rain and reduces infiltration so more water is transferred faster to river channel
Causes: human- population?
Rapid population growth has lead to increased population densities on flood plains e.g. Capital Dhaka is a floodplain and is home to 14million people meaning floods will cause widespread damage
Causes: human-global warming?
Rising temperature leads to more energy in atmosphere increasing instability in the weather and therefore likelihood of an intensive monsoon season
Primary effects: social-deaths?
898 deaths - people who became trapped by floodwaters were eventually swept away due to lack of emergency rescue services and people also died from starvation and disease
Primary effects: social-houses?
860,000 homes destroyed as they were all built on flood plains furthermore the homes were made of flimsy material e.g. Corrugated iron or cardboard and so could not withstand waters
Primary effects: economic-Dhaka?
Parts of Dhaka including its international airport was 2m below water and businesses and government offices could not operate meaning economy was affected and also the response to the disaster
Primary effects: economic - farmers?
2.5million farmers affected, crops were destroyed, livestock drowned, income lost, seeds for next year lost, food lost
Primary effects: environmental- areas flooded?
2/3 of the country was flooded - this was because 50% of country was only 5m above sea level and so once rivers overflow their banks, they can flow vast distances, flooding farmland ,transport routes and settlements
Primary effects: environmental- flood water?
Flood water polluted wells, flowing in from above and bringing with it silt, debris and sewage leading to contaminated water supplies for 1/4 million people
Secondary effects: social - food?
Since 2.5 mil farmers were affected, there were many food shortages which led to more deaths and also inflation of food prices
Secondary effects: economic - development?
Development slowed as the cost of repairs is estimated to be £12 million and although much of this was given by other countries, some was given by Bangladeshi government and so slowed other areas of economic development by not putting money into that
Secondary effects: environmental-result of contaminated water?
Hospitals filled up with people suffering from cholera as a result of dirty water
Management: intermediate?
International aid was provided by overseas governments and charities e.g. ActionAid giving water purification tablets and carbolic soap to treat snakebites. However this was slowed down because lack of access to airports, roads and railways.
Management: long-term- government response?
Dhaka integrated flood protection project $100million with AsianDevelopment Bank including large-scaled hard engineering projects e.g. earth embankments to hold back rising floodwater
Management: long-term-charities response?
Oxfam preparedness program example of one providing funds for small scale protection schemes such as flood shelters, providing space for 100 families including community rooms and toilets and 2ha raised space for livestock
Sustainability- positive?
Dhaka Integrated Flood Protection Scheme seek to be sustainable by providing flood protection schemes to protect people and economy for many years to come
Sustainability -negative?
These projects are expensive to maintain and become redundant as sea levels rise meaning more investment needed and more lives at risk, furthermore, they are simply minimising effects of flooding and not tackling problem e.g. Deforestation of Himalayas
