Case Study Rivers

Question 1

Causes flooding

Answer 1

1] monsoon climate

• > heavy rain and snow
• > result soil erosion - river discharge

2) deforestation 
Due to increasing population in Nepal and Tibet
trees cleared for grazing land
-> more runoff
-> faster land erosion

3) 80% of Bangladesh lies on huge floodplain and delta
4) cyclones frequently hit Bangladesh
5) river slit up due to increased soil erosion this is raise the river bed and reduces the capacity of the channel resulting in increasing likelihood of flooding

Question 2

Opportunities

Answer 2

Densely land

25% of Bangladesh is less than 1m above sea level

Flooding is annual event as the river burst their banks

Seasonal flooding is beneficial as it provides for the rice and jute it also helps to keep the soil fertile

• > fertile soil. Rice is grown
• > area can be used for shrimp farming
• > they have few natural resources fertile soil

Question 3

Challenge

Answer 3

• almost the whole of Bangladesh is made up of the Ganges and Brahmaputra river
• therefore the country is frequently flooded by both coastal and river floods

Floods have caused the death of more than 1 million people in the last 200 years

The agriculture on the floodplain of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra is already over cultivated

Wide spread of deforestation for firewood on the foothill of Himalayas increasing the flood risk

The cost of repairing damage to the infrastructure after the flooding is frequent drain on the economy

Question 4

Effects

Answer 4

600 people died

30 million people were homeless

Damage to school & hospital put at $7 billion

Public facilities had been destroyed

Rice had been destroyed

2006 50% population under poverty line

Death toll raise over 750

40% Dhaka underneath ; 60% Bangladesh submerged