It has also been suggested that the flood was made worse due to a number of other possible factors,
- The extraction of groundwater for irrigation had lowered the water table and caused the land to subside by about 2.5m.
- The use of water for irrigation upstream has reduced the amount of silt deposited so the level of the land has not been built up.
- Increased amounts of urbanisation has led to higher peak flow on the rivers with much shorter lag times and a greater frequency of floods.
- Deforestation in the Himalayas has increased run off.
Impact
With such a large area of the country flooded the impact was severe for a large number of people.
The impacts varied between urban and rural areas and these are described separately.
Rural areas.
The most vulnerable areas are the low flat areas made up of deposited silt and called the "char" areas. These areas are inhabited by very poor subsistence farmers who struggle to survive in normal years.
As the flood waters rose most families tried to stay in their homes and simply raised their beds and furniture to be able to live above the water. When the water reached roof level they would move to higher ground but within easy reach of their homes. In many cases their animals would drown as these areas of high ground were barely big enough to hold the people.
The floods brought a considerable health risk from water borne diseases as the wells were submerged making the water unsafe. As a result diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea spread widely, especially in the crowded unsanitary conditions on the higher ground.
In the worst hit areas the flood removed whole villages and large areas of farmland were swept out to sea. A large percentage of the crops were lost so farmers did not have enough food to survive unless food was supplied from elsewhere. The roads were flooded and this made it very difficult to bring in this relief to the rural areas.
After the flood Bangladesh was left with a deficit of 2.2 million tonnes of rice (7% of output) and this had to be replaced by imports or foreign aid. In such severe floods the deposits tended to be infertile sand rather than silt and when the water went down large areas were infertile.
Urban areas.
The capital city of Dhaka was badly affected with its Eastern area being flooded and 45% of houses having water at roof level in some districts. (The western areas were protected by the Western embankment.)
In the city the poor were particularly badly affected, losing income and having to borrow money and suffering from diseases such as dysentery and diarrhoea. ( in some areas up to 25% of the population.)
The worst problems were a lack of clean drinking water and food shortages. Those that left their houses tried to stay with relatives but others were left to find open space on higher ground where diseases spread rapidly in crowded conditions.
As Bangladesh is such a poor country, with so much land at high population density below 5m and with three large rivers, control of flooding is an impossible target. Therefore a variety of management strategies have been used so that the impacts can be limited.
Management
Some of the cheaper strategies used to assist people include,
-Flood shelters. These are constructed of concrete and on stilts in the low lying agricultural areas so that farmers can move their families and valuable possessions to a safe place until the after the water level drops.
- Assistance for the flooded areas with food, water purification tablets and medicines. This was more effective in Dhaka were people were accessible rather than the rural areas where roads could not be used. In the rural areas food and water was distributed by boat to areas in need.
- Education about water safety was very effective, especially in Dhaka, in 1998 with people taking care not to use dirty water for drinking. The newspapers were used to communicate this.
- Many people manage the flood from their own resources, selling possessions or borrowing money from other members of their family.
- Charities such as Oxfam send in large quantities of food, medicines, water purification tablets and money to help the poor survive the flood.
FLOOD ACTION PLAN
After the 1988 flood a large project was put in place by the world bank to attempt to control the floods in Bangladesh. This is called the Flood Action Plan and the first phase completed by 1995 cost $150 million with the second stage costing $500 million and total cost well over this. This plan is funded by other countries.
The Flood action Plan will lead to the construction of large embankments to protect the major cities against the most severe floods and to ensure that roads and railways are also protected. The embankments also protect agricultural areas, both fields and villages against abnormal flooding.
There has been criticism about this plan as it benefits the richer people more than the poor, will narrow the flood plain so increase the height of the rivers and deprive many areas of fish and fertile silt during the annual flood. It is also very expensive.
FORECASTING
With measurement of rainfall, river flows and satellite images of weather patterns it is now possible to predict flooding with some accuracy and this enables people to warned so that they can move to higher ground or flood shelters Also food and medicines can be delivered much earlier by the charities and other organisations such as the United Nations.
The success of the management of the 1998 flood can be seen from the relatively low number of deaths - just over 1000. More than twice this number died in 1988 in a much flood which lasted a third of the time.