In the past decade Bangladesh has made noticeable progresses in disaster preparedness, especially when it comes to facing mega cyclones.
Although experts still feel that the nation has weaknesses in the post disaster recovery stages but many other experts disagree and said that the human losses, injuries and damage to properties have been reduced considerably which is a reflection of how the current government is paying attention to developing priority areas like disaster management.
In the last two decades at least a dozen or so cyclones and tropical storms hit the coastal areas where human and cattle losses were said to be minimum compared to the previous years.
Asked what are the reasons behind such progress, an government official said that the government has specific plans, mainly three core goals in addressing all pre and post disasters - saving lives, protecting investments, effective recovery and rebuilding structures.
He explained that the plan is built on government’s past successes in disaster risk reduction by making a paradigm shift from purely emergency response to include measures for building resilience.
However, it also critically analyzes disaster risk in the current development context within changing social, political, economic and environmental circumstances.
Bangladesh has made unprecedented progress, mainly in terms of warnings and preparations. Community awareness programmes and voluntary services are also worth mentioning
He further explained that Bangladesh has taken a holistic approach towards disaster management, where emphasis has been given to working together with all stakeholders to build strategic, scientific and implementation partnerships with all relevant government departments and agencies.
The approach also includes other key non-government players including NGOs, academic and technical institutions, the private sector and donors.
Recently Bangladesh introduce Standing Order on Disasters SOD which plays a crutial role in saving lives and properties. It has a clear indication of the responsibilities of every sector.
Bangladesh is among the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of cyclones and flooding, particularly in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) Delta region.
In association with the monsoon season, during which 80 percent of all the precipitation falls. Due to the low elevation, 25 to 30 percent of all land area is inundated during normal monsoon conditions. The country is also affected by erosion, land degradation, landslides, fires, extreme heat, and droughts, as well as rarely potential wildfires and tsunamis.
According to the United Nations Development Program UNDP there are a total of 13 types of disasters in Bangladesh, most of which causes loss of lives by cyclones and tidal waves and resources destroyed by floods.
In the latest report prepared by The UN office of Disasters Risk Reduction, DRR said cyclones, storm surges, and flooding have led to almost nearly 520,000 recorded deaths over the past 40 years.
Out of these, in the last 20 years, the death toll is very low, though in the time many devastating cyclone and tidal surges hit in the funnel shaped Bay of Bengal Bangladesh cost.
Sider in 2007, Nargis in May 2008, Aila on May 25, 2009, Mahasen on May 16, 2013, Komen on July 30, 2015, Roanu on May 21, 2016, Mora on May 30, 2018, Fani on May 3, 2019, Bulbul on November 9, 2019, in 2020 cyclone Amphan hit the coast along the Sundarbans were hit the Bangladesh coast.
Arif Abdullah Khan, Programm analyst of The United Nation Development Program UNDP said, “Among the programs undertaken by Bangladesh to address the dilemma, SOD and volunteer-based warnings and response programs are unique in the world.”
He said, “As a result of all these, the loss of life and properties has been reduced and Bangladesh has proved its ability to deal with the problem.”
Among the policies - the Disaster Management Act, 2012 was enacted with a view to making disaster-related activities coordinated, target-oriented and strong; and making rules for an effective disaster risk management framework for all types of disasters.
The National Disaster Management Policy NDMP 2015 and National Plan for Disaster Management 2016-2020 has considered the principles of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and national policies and strategies.
There is a team National Disaster Management Council NDMC led by the Prime Minister to coordinate the risk reduction of deserters among the divisions, districts, upazilas and union level.
Atiqul Haq, Director General of Directorate of Disaster Management said recently Bangladesh has developed its Cyclone and Flood warning system and also expansion rescue machinery and infrastructures.
“A total of 19 districts of the country are prone to cyclone and 31 districts are prone to floods,” he added saying, “the losses have also come down as the policies adopted to deal with the dilemma have been quite effective.”
So far Cyclone Preparedness Program CPP is the largest volunteering program in Bangladesh having around 50,000 volunteers including 16,455 female and 32,910 male volunteers. The program covers 322 unions of 37 Upazilas under 13 districts.
In the experience of the catastrophic cyclone of 1970, the first government of independent Bangladesh under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman appointed CPP volunteers.
Since independence, around 4500 cyclone shelters have been set up in the coastal areas. In addition, at least 5,500 buildings owned by the Government and Non- Government Organization NGO have been selected in the coastal areas where people can take shelter if needed.
“In addition to government agencies, non-governmental organizations are also contributing to Bangladesh's ability to cope,” said Runa Khan, Chief Executive Officer or CEO and founder of Friendship an NGO working in the Coastal area as Disaster Risk Resilience partner.
Although there has been considerable progress in tackling the grievances, there is still much to be done, she said, adding that the damages are not recovering at the desired level.
Arif Abdullah Khan of UNDP said many of the embankments and roads damaged by the recent cyclones and floods have yet to be repaired. The suffering of the disaster is becoming chronic.
If a dam is damaged by floods, it causes saline water to enter from the sea, and salinity disrupts normal human life. The availability of drinking water and water for cultivation became difficult.
Moreover, it is very difficult to build up industrial infrastructure in such hazardous areas. This not only increases poverty among the people of the affected areas, it also throws people into a permanent cycle of poverty.
Particularly the vulnerable context where large numbers of people are dependent on subsistence agriculture or live-in poverty may have catastrophic effects on maintaining the positive development pathway, even without considering the adverse impacts of climate change.