Geography: Bangladesh River Flooding

Location

• Bangladesh in Southern Asia, near Bay of Bengal.
• Approx. 75% landlocked.
• 147,570 km2 in size.
• Population 142,319,000

• Bangladesh is a LEDC, not much money for flood defences.
• Country is low-lying, not high above sea level.
• They face threat from coastal and river flooding, could be attacked twice at same time.
• They have a very high density of people, flood shelters packed full when flood occurs and cannot afford many more.

• Affected by river flooding because vunerable to monsoon weather, causes flooding.
• Country very flat, water no where to run.
• Low-lying land, seawater can flow onto land,
• Lack of contraception, fast growing population, more houses, less infiltration, impermeable surfaces.

The 1998 Flood 

• The flood lasted from July - September.
• 66% of land was underwater.
• 30 million people homeless.
• 1,070 people died from drowning, snake bites & diarrhoea.
• Dhaka (Capital City) was 2m underwater.
• Water & electricity in Dhaka cut-off and sewage system collapsed.
• Flood water contaminated fresh water supply, disease.
• Entire stock of rice destroyed.
• 668,529 ha of crops badly damaged.
• 13,000 cattle died.
• 400 factories had to close
• More than 1000 schools destroyed.
• Over 11,000km of road damaged.

Levees

• Way to protect from future flooding.
• Would protect by regulating amount of water passed into a village.

Raising Homesteads

• Would need more water to flood people's homes than now.
• People could stay in homes during flooding.

Warning System

• Many people cannot recieve warnings, no radio etc.
• If charities sent out a couple of radio per village, people could prepare.

• Help people of Bangladesh by helping sanitation, flood protection and drainage.
• This helps prevent stoppable floods, stops contamination of fresh water and helps stopping disease from spreading.
• Helps country majorly.

Re-Afforestation Projects in the Himalayas helps reduce flood risk because more vegetation means more interception and transpiration.

Organisations such as Oxfam and Water Aid help people after floods to help re-build homes, regrow crops and have new cattle. They also help disease and food supplies.

Also help fund flood schemes, e.g. funding flood barriers along the rivers.