Vulnerable areas

Question 1

Named area: Low-lying = Bangladesh

Answer 1

80% of the land area is low-lying (less than 6m above sea level)
Could lose up to 20% of its land, displacing up to 40m people
Threaten to reduce supplies of food and fresh drinking water and damage agricultural land
(65% population are subsistence farmers)
Multiple hazard zone = river floods, coastal floods, storm surges and typhoons)
Vulnerable population with a low capacity to cope

Question 2

Named area: low-lying but already defended: Netherlands

Answer 2

One of the richest countries in the world
Over 50% of land are is reclaimed from the sea (polders) so sits below sea level
Densely population and heavily developed
Complex protection system of dukes and coastal sand dunes
A 1m rise in sea level would cost $12,000 million to defend

Question 3

Named area: Small, low-lying island: The Maldives

Answer 3

311,000 people – dense and growing populations
1,196 islands, most just 2m above sea level – also small physical size means nowhere to flee
Prone to natural disaster e.g. hurricanes –
Vulnerability of groundwater to contamination by sea water
A rise in sea level of 0.5m would submerge most of the country
The economy is dependent on tourism, which would be threatened by a rise in sea level