Economically 608 schools were damaged; fisherman lost their incomes, electricity supplies failed, the years harvest was destroyed and it was difficult for Bangladesh to develop and get out of debt as the government has to provide relief + rehabilitation to its people.
Environmentally fish ponds were contaminated with sea water so it killed the fish because they were used to a fresh water ecosystem. Embankments were damaged leading to an increase risk of flooding next year or in the near future. There was also soil erosion in the foothills of the Himalayas which many lead to a landslide.
The source region of Hurricane Floyd was the mid-Atlantic Ocean and the duration was approximately a fortnight. The storm was at its strongest over the Bahamas where it was a category 4 storm. 79 people died and 4 million people were evacuated from their houses in the states of Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Nearly 12,000 houses were destroyed and 150,000 people registered for government assistance.
Economically many farmers had to find another job and $460 million was paid out by insurance companies. Environmentally large areas of beaches were destroyed by sand dunes; thousands of trees were blown away, severe erosion on the coastline of America was suffered and North Carolina alone had an area of 30,000 sq km flooded.
The effects are different because they are more costly in a LEDC in this case Bangladesh. The GDP for an average person per year is $335 in Bangladesh. In America the GDP for an average person a year is $29,000. This is a critical factor. The money income for a family is much greater in an MEDC than a LEDC. In an MEDC money is widely available from the state and government funds. In a LEDC there is limited national aid so more people are likely to suffer. In Bangladesh there is no insurance so they are not covered if their property is damaged. In America if someone’s property is damaged they are covered and can claim from their insurance and their property will be repaired or reconstructed. A LEDC like Bangladesh had poor communication links so if a disaster did happen it would be impossible to send messages to tell people to evacuate or to send aid quickly and efficiently. In America there are hurricane centres that monitor tropical storms and warnings are given out on televisions. This would be difficult in Bangladesh which is an LEDC where most people are barely surviving let alone having their own TV. In a LEDC the houses are poorly constructed and are easily destroyed by strong winds or flooding. In America there are hurricane proof buildings which are built to increase the chances of people’s houses not getting too far beyond repair. The difference in state development is a key issue in the influence of the storms impact because an MEDC may be able to recover quicker and move on from the disaster than an LEDC which would take longer to recover. In this scenario Bangladesh took several years to recover and America recovered much quicker. The area was cleared within a few months. The American government was willing to spend money to help repair and clear up the carnage to get life back to normal. In Bangladesh life will never be the same and the government does not have enough money to re-establish the area and get things back to normal.
