Was it the human or natural causes that caused the 1998 floods in bangladesh?

Bangladesh

Coursework

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is located in southern Asia. It is quite a small country and has two neighbouring countries. Surrounding it in the north, west an east is India. On the north-east is Burma. In the coast is the Bay of Bengal. There are two rivers flowing through Bangladesh: river Ganges and river Brahmaputra. Bangladesh’s capital is Dacca. Bangladesh is based on very flat land more than 50% of Bangladesh is below 15 meters of sea level which is a big problem to country causing constant flooding. In addition to this the country has a high amount of rainfall during some of its seasons which has a big impact on the drainage basin. The country faces a genuine amount of Natural hazards: including droughts, cyclones and the high monsoons during the summer season, these affect the delta regions. The flooding that happens due to the human and natural causes is what I will be considering during this coursework. I will explore the current problems that the flooding causes including the amount of homeless people after the floods, the high ranking spread of waterborne diseases due to the polluted water. As well as that the huge amounts of deforestation and soil erosion would be the effects of the flooding and looked into throughout this project.

The methods used to guard Bangladesh against floods:

Plan 1

Build embankments along the river channel: they would have to be built up to seven meters in height and would have to be built along the river and not just in the village.
For: Villagers: because it provides them with jobs
Against: Government because it is expensive, Farmers: because they would lose land and citizens who lived next to the stagnant water because there is a higher risk of disease due to mosquitoes
Rank order 6
My opinion on this is that the embankments would be good however would provide more flooding downstream so it should be carefully planned where they are built

Plan 2

Provide emergency medical stores in each village; also train some villagers in basic healthcare: this would provide essential drugs, dressings and water purification tablets. A few people in the village will be trained and this will be in good use to the ill people.
For: Villagers: it would reduce the risks of disease spreading and provide immediate help for the injured people. Also good because there are some trained people in the area. The government would also be for it as it is not very expensive.
Against: the farmers would be against it as it would be taking up their land.
Rank order 1
My opinion on the medical stores is a positive one because there will be more people medically trained and this would give more people a chance of survival throughout the flood.

Plan 3

Build flood protection shelters in each village: large building like these could hold 1000 people, as well as some animals
For: the villagers: they will have a guarantee on their life when a flood happens
Against: some of the people that live there because of the fact that it could be swept away if the flood has a strong water flow. Also the government wouldn’t be happy to spend money on something that could be broken or damaged easily.
Rank 4
My opinion on ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Plan 3

Build flood protection shelters in each village: large building like these could hold 1000 people, as well as some animals
For: the villagers: they will have a guarantee on their life when a flood happens
Against: some of the people that live there because of the fact that it could be swept away if the flood has a strong water flow. Also the government wouldn’t be happy to spend money on something that could be broken or damaged easily.
Rank 4
My opinion on this is negative as there have been many cases where the flood shelters have been swept away and the lives that were supposed to be saved were not.

Plan 4

Provide emergency stores of farm replacements – would also contain new seeds and supplies of fertiliser
For: farmers as they will have something to live or make money on. Villagers would also be happy as they will have something to eat. Government would stand by the proposal as it is not expensive.
No-one would be against it as it does not provide any downfalls.
Rank order 1
This is a good thing as it would provide the villagers with food throughout the flood and they will not starve.

Plan 5

Build flood proof grain storage sheds. This would enable village grain stores to be preserved in buildings.
For: Villagers: it would supply them with food throughout the flood and afterwards when all the fields have been destroyed.
Against: the people who make it as well as the government: if the flood water levels get high the food could get lost and or ruined
Rank order 2
Good as it again provides food for the people.

Plan 6

Sink new tube wells. Build special wells that protect water supplies during flooding
For: Villagers: they are ensured with the supply of safe drinking water, and there is less spread of water-borne disease
Against: Farmers: as it takes up their land to build these
Rank 3
Good as it will stop many different diseases spreading and secure no more deaths from dirty water.

Plan 7

Link up the emergency flood warning system-new communications centre would be built. Trained operators would be provided. All the villagers would be warned in time for preparations and evacuation
For: Villagers: they will have a chance of survival in the flood
Against: Farmers: it would take up their land to build this centre
Rank order 4
Good because the evacuation will happen more quickly and more lives will be saved because of this.

(Rank order = the cost on the expense scale)

EFFECTS

Here is an interview with one of the victims that survived the great flood that happened in 1996. He describes what he visualised throughout the time when he was unable to receive help as all the transportation systems were blocked and the rescue workers had not yet been able to track him.

An interview of the effects of the floods

Hasan Chowdury – victim of the 1998 flood

Everything is ruined. The flood has destroyed nearly all the villages and the landscape now is just murky water. I along many no longer have a home as my house has been destroyed and there is no longer a trace of it, even below the water. I guess my crops have also been destroyed and I will be scarce for food, my family and I could not last on the supplies they give us as they are not going to last forever

I have been out here for a very long time and the water is making the family I have left numb. The emergency food supplies shave not yet arrived, so we are all going through a rough time living with starvation. I have lost my daughter and spent all of yesterday looking for her. However there is no trace and I am hoping she is all right. The water swept her away and I must say inconveniently that there have been many trees and houses damaged, this could continue to make me say that she might have had no chance to grab anything that could hold her which would be worthwhile for her existence

It is said that the huge climate change is very likely to affect Bangladesh’s population of more than 140 million in the next 50 years. It is very likely that the sea levels will rise in the south of Bangladesh and many droughts will rise dramatically in the north, this could be an aspect that could create further flooding but also something that would disrupt the population structure.

We also spoke to Dr Ham Rahman a flood expert from Dhaka who described the effects of the flood

NC: There have been many effects…

Dr: yes there are many different ones human and physical

NC: Could we find out some of the human ones?

Dr: well, there are a 1,000,000 people taking refuge and the most devastating is the 918 deaths. It is such a large figure for a small country like Bangladesh.

NC: What about the physical effects?

Dr: There are dozens of those, the crops were flooded, around 5,500 hectares, and this will be a great loss to the country as it is the only way they made a living. If calculating the % of crops lost in flooded areas 50% would be the starting point.

NC: People could not easily move around during the flood, when all the water goes will it be easier?

Dr: not precisely as there are many roads damaged-15,927 km altogether. The cost of repairs will be horrendous and will take a long time to complete, judging from this the country could go into serious debt.

NC: Could you give us some more of the physical effects will have suffered financially?

Dr: well huge damage has been made to the embankments- a total of 4,528 km, and as known the embankments take a lot of money to build and replace them, there will be a huge amount of money borrowed.

NC: have there been a lot of public facilities damaged as well?

Dr: indeed, there have been a total of 1,718 schools damaged and this is a huge problem as education will decline due to no educational facilities. This will also make the country’s literacy rate fall too.

Other problems are the 366 police stations damaged this is very likely to increase crime probably damaging the country’s economy further.

Lastly there have been 2,716 flood shelters damaged. This makes a huge loss financially as well, as they will have to rebuild them while the country has lost nearly everything, and there are hardly any ways for it to make money and in the end it could make the country go into further debt

CAUSES

We interviewed Dr Ashley Patterson, a flood expert to find out the causes of the 1998 floods in Bangladesh.

NC: In your opinion, what do you thing were the main causes of the 19998 floods in Bangladesh?

DR: There were many reasons to the causes of the floods, some were human some were natural.

NC: could you give us some of the human causes?

DR: One of the main causes is deforestation; it increases surface runoff because of the fact that there are no trees. Therefore there is saturated ground and the water is not stored, and makes its way towards the river.

Another one is urbanisation; the residents of Bangladesh have no choice, so this cause couldn’t be avoided. Since they have no choice and the land has become impermeable. This human cause has increased surface runoff.

NC: has anything been done to help the current situation?

DR: the country tried to build embankments; this was a failure because the river is too large therefore the flooding gets worse.

NC: there have also been dams built

DR: This was another mistake, such large rivers with dams at their expense as well produce more runoff and eventually flooding.

NC: the people are only trying to change what might happen, flooding itself of course must be a natural cause, and could you give us some natural impacts?

DR: Bangladesh has seen long periods of heavy rainfall, this of course goes into the river, and going back to deforestation the less tress the more water the river end up receiving. After the rains have finished the water makes its way to the river which bursts its banks after receiving too much.

NC: which are the heavy rainfall seasons?

DR: in the summer and also due to this ice and snow melts in the Himalayas. High temperatures are the cause in this. This added together with the rainfall adds water to the river

NC: Are the rivers structured in any way which could be a problem?

DR: all the rivers have the same mouth so all the water goes into the same place; also there is a lot of silt in the river bed which raises the river bed highly.

In conclusion

In conclusion I think that both human and natural activity had a part in causing the flooding. However, the natural cause is the greater cause because they cannot usually be prevented. The 3 main natural causes are: the land in Bangladesh is naturally flat. Bangladesh’s climate is naturally wet , this is also exceptionally high during the summer months and clashes with the time that high temperatures occur and this is when the snow begins to melt all off these add water into the river.

However, there are many human causes as well that contribute to the flooding. Deforestation is the main one that outweighs the rest. Trees are interceptors and act like sponges that soak in water, and when deforestation happens there are no trees there so there is no infiltration. Deforestation cannot be stopped as the country is an LEDC. Also even though the trees later may be replanted it could take forever for them to re-grow making this method ineffective.

I think the best solution to use from the methods that guard Bangladesh against floods is building the embankments. This would help greatly as the flooding would be stopped. Arranging where the embankments are built is what should be carefully planned and if this is done accurately there will be a decrease in the flooding for the future and the effects will not be as severe as before where the preparation wasn’t as effective.

Nataliya Charnetski 10A