The Bangladesh Floods

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  • Created by: Jiya
  • Created on: 05-04-16 16:40

Causes

  • 70% of Bangladesh less than 1cm above sea level
  • rivers, lakes and swamps cover 10% of land area
  • tropical cyclones from Bay of Bengal bring heavy rain and storms
  • snow melts in summer in Himalayas increases river discharge in the Ganges
  • heaviest rainsin 50 years (35cm in one day) fell in September
  • population in Bangladesh is increasing rapidly which means more floodplains are beig built on 
    • increases flood risk
    • 1 million people live in Dhaka, the capital city
  • three rivers flow into Bangladesh from India and the Himalayas
    • the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna
  • Bangladesh is an LEDC, with a GDP per capita of $300
    • flood management is hard to implement
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Primary Effects

  • 60% Bangladesh under water
  • 760 killed
  • 30 million homeless
  • more than 35 million people affected
  • 40% of Dhaka (capital) underwater
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Secondary Effects

  • more than 1 million children suffered from malnutrition or water-bourne diseases
  • over $7 billion worth of damage
  • emergency food aid was needed until following years harvest
  • 100,000 people in Dhaka suffered from diarrhoea
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Immediate Response

  • UN activated a disaster management team who supplied critical emergency supplies and conducted a 'damage and needs assesment' in affected areas
    • UN organised £74 million of aid
  • water purification tablets and info sheets given by Water Aid
  • Bangladesh government distributed money and 400 tonnes of rice
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Long Term Responses

  • dams built to control river flow
    • £500 million
  • embankments built
    • 500km hae already been built, but are in need of repair
  • in July 1987, the World Bank prepared an action plan for flood control in Bangladesh
    • included building seven huge dams
  • replanting of forest cover in Nepal and Tibet
    • afforestation
  • completion of 3500km of embankments to include compartments for floodwater storage
    • levees
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