Staff Reporter :
Natural disasters such as floods and cyclones are becoming increasingly severe in Bangladesh due to climate change. Additionally, extreme temperatures and severe droughts have emerged as significant issues for the country.
Experts warn that Bangladesh would struggle to recover if it continues to experience more cyclones like Remal this year.
They highlight that Bangladesh is the seventh most vulnerable country to climate change globally facing recurrent floods, cyclones, and landslides.
These natural disasters exacerbate the cycle of poverty and severely impact vulnerable groups.
The country’s sub-tropical climate also brings seasonal variations and hazards such as cold waves and tornadoes, which disrupt people’s incomes and displace communities.
According to Inform Index, Bangladesh ranks 27th globally in terms of disaster risk. From 2014 to 2020, the country experienced significant human and economic losses: 1,053 people died, 4.6 million houses were damaged, and economic losses amounted to $4.1 billion.
These insights were shared at a workshop on “Effective Preparedness for Multiple Disasters Based on Forecasts for Children by Local People and Institutions in the Northern and Coastal Regions of Bangladesh.”
The workshop was jointly organized by the Directorate of Disaster Management and Save the Children and held at a local hotel in the city on Monday and was chaired by Lutfun Nahar, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
Among the notable speakers were KM Abdul Wadud, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief; Silki Shimmer, Representative of the German Embassy; and Rifat Bin Sattar, Deputy Country Director and Program Operations of Save the Children in Bangladesh.
Director General of the Directorate of Disaster Management, Mizanur Rahman, served as the chief guest.
In his address, Rahman highlighted the changing nature of climatic disasters, stating, “The types of climatic disasters are frequently changing their faces. Once people were used to similar types of disasters, but now the patterns have started changing into unknown territories.”
Rahman expressed his concern over the potential difficulty of recovery if multiple cyclones, similar to Cyclone Remal, was to hit the country this year.
“Recently, we have experienced four peak times in Cyclone Remal. It means that four tides occurred on our coast during the severe cyclone Remal. There have been huge losses in the southern region, which will take a lot of time for the people of those areas to recover due to Cyclone Remal. The fishery sector has also suffered huge losses and may suffer even more this year,” he said.
Reflecting on the recent heatwave that broke temperature records, Rahman mentioned, “People of the country experienced a heatwave just a few days ago. We are working on these issues and hopefully, we could get a protocol before the next heatwave. We are working to deal with these disasters from our position.”
Rahman also provided sobering statistics on the human toll of Cyclone Remal, noting that at least 18 people lost their lives across five districts including 3 from Bhola, 4 from Barisal, 4 from Patuakhali, 6 from Pirojpur and 1 from Barguna district.
In a recent statement, disaster management authorities emphasized the critical importance of responding to cyclone warnings by seeking shelter. “If they had come to the cyclone shelter on the warning messages called by the disaster management, the damage might not have happened,” an official said. He stressed that their utmost endeavor is to ensure no precious lives are lost.
Mizanur Rahman, referencing a recent survey, revealed alarming statistics: approximately 19,000-20,000 people die every year in the country, with most victims being children.
“We found in a survey that 90 percent of children in urban areas do not know how to swim. Children are not being taught to swim in the village as before. But due to this problem, most children die in the country. In Europe and America, children are trained to swim at an early age,” Rahman noted.
Addressing these concerns a children-based project commenced in January 2024, supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.
The project is scheduled to work in vulnerable areas of Chattogram, Gaibandha and Patuakhali in Bangladesh to make effective preparations through child-centered community-based predictive response programs to protect people’s lives from floods, cyclones, and landslides.
One of the objectives of the project is to reduce the risk to children’s lives due to disasters in the project area and create a suitable environment for their growth and development.
In addition, increasing the capacity and accessibility of local people and institutions to early warning systems for climate and disaster risk mitigation will lead to forecast-based planning of local people and institutions that will help mitigate risks and harms to children.