FLOODING - Bangladesh

Question 1

What are the human causes of flooding?

Answer 1

• High population density of 1,000/km2.
  
  • Sewage acts as extra discharge
  • Impermeable surfaces
• Global warming: If sea levels rise by 3ft Bangladesh loses 10% land
• Poverty: GDP per capita only 960 USD.
  
  • Most people live in poor quality mud huts. These are easily washed away.

Question 2

What are the geographical causes of flooding?

Answer 2

• Flat land: Average gradient 25cm/km
• Rivers and waterways: 10% of land is water.
• Rainfall: Yearly 1,500-2,000mm rain
• Cyclones: Sidr in 2007
• Tectonic Activity: Indian Plate is moving towards Eurasian plate, so Himalayas getting taller and steeper, so soil is becoming loose and succeptible to erosion, so more load

Question 3

What are the effects?

Answer 3

• Social:
  
  • Schools flooded - this causes a decrease in local literacy. Literacy of Bangladesh is only 57%.
  • Contamination of water supply - leads to cholera.
  • Communications destroyed. This decreased emergency services reaction time.
• Economic:
  
  • Businesses in decline due fewer consumers: after 1988 400 clothing factories closed
  • Reliance on foreign aid.
  • Killed livestock and poultry. After 1988, lost 1/2 million cattle and poultry, leading to famine

Question 4

Solutions

Answer 4

• Bangladesh is an LEDC, and with a GDP per capita of only 960 USD, it cannot afford expensive schemes like MEDCs can.
• Government is also coorupt - 145/175th.
• Short term:
  
  • Walkways
  • Boats
  • UNCT helps people by providing food
  • Water purification tablets
• Long term:
  
  • Afforestation
  • Embankments - proposed by the World Bank in their ‘Flood Action Plan’ - 7m high, covering 350km
  • Dreging