Bangladesh flooding Project By Tara and Alex

When? Where?

... Bangladesh floods every year. The rivers Brahmaputra and the Ganges overflow during the monsoon period. Flooding 20% of the country. But in 1998 the rivers flooded 68% of the country. In some places for more than 70 days. The flood was unpredicted on terms of magnitude and duration.

Causes Most of the country is 6m below sea level. Building on flood plains to house the growing population, has left less room for flooding. Cutting down trees (deforestation) in the upper drainage basin. Human causing global warming causes ice to melt and then travel down stream and then causes flooding.

... Most of the country is flood plains. Monsoon climate occurs during the warm months so you also get ice coming down from the Himalayas as water in the rivers. Silt is being brought down by the rivers and being deposited.

Effects It caused the death of over a thousand people. Railway, roads and bridges were all swept away. Most parts of the country didnt have electricity for several weeks. Due to flood water polluting wells, there was no safe drinking water.

... 7 million homes were destroyed This left over 25 million people homeless. It destroyed crops and basic infrastructural features. In some places only tops of trees could be seen. Hospitals were already full from people suffering from dysentery and diarrhoea. But the threat of disease especially cholera was increasing.

Management Strategies Bangladesh's low level of economic development means Bangladesh's flood protection is insufficient. Following the 1998 floods a number of short term flood relief measures were put in place to try an minimise loss of life - these included: international food aid programmes the distribution of free seed to farmers by the Bangladesh government to try and reduce the impact of food shortages - the government also gave 350,000 tonnes of cereal to feed people; volunteers / aid workers worked to try and repair flood damage.

... Following the 1998 floods a number of short term flood relief measures were put in place to try an minimise loss of life - these included: international food aid programmes The distribution of free seed to farmers by the Bangladesh government to try and reduce the impact of food shortages - the government also gave 350,000 tonnes of cereal to feed people. Volunteers / aid workers worked to try and repair flood damage.

Soft Strategies People were helped to cope with the floods through: Flood warning systems which gave people time to evacuate. Flood Proofing, Which is using sandbags to block some water out. Insurance which covered the cost of flooding. Zoning which prevents new buildings in the area at risk of flooding.

Hard Strategies To prevent floods they: Built dams in the upper river valley, which controlled discharge of the river. Levees that increased the height of river Banks. Straightening meanders, increases sped of the river so flood water moves quickly. Spillways allows flood water to flood unused land instead. A forestation is planting trees to increase interception and evapotranspiration.

Issues Most people think that it is better to use Soft Management Strategies because they dont want to waste money on it, especially as Bangladesh is a LED. People also think that it can Hurt the environment.

The Different Methods: LEDC, MEDC LEDC An LEDC like Bangladesh hasnt got very good emergency services. Hospitals are not very well equipped either when lots of people are injured let alone one. MEDC An MEDC Like England has really good Emergency services when Natural Disasters happen.

The End, Thank You For Listening!