In the World map. Bangladesh stands in the disaster prone area. So. almost every year, disaster of one kind or other strikes this country. Cyclone. Storm Surge. Tornado. Flash Mood. Flood. River Bank Erosion Drought and Earthquake are ifiain hazards which occur in Bangladesh. The statistics of last one lundrcd years show that . on in average, live thousand seoplc are killed every year in Bangladesh and this figure stands highest in the World, although there are more disaster prone countries in the world than Bangladesh. This is due to high density, illiteracy and poverty of people living in the disaster prone areas of Bangladesh. They are unable to lake appropriate preparedness measures to save their life anti property.

After ihe devastating cyclones and storm surges of

The Role and Responsibilities of Disaster Management Bureau Akramul Islam Director-General,. DMB

197(1 and 1985 and floods of 1981 and 1988. the Government started thinking as to what can be done Io reduce loss of life and properly by disasters. A technical Assistance Project Proforma was submitted to the planning commission and when this was being examined, another devastating cyclone with storm surge struck Bangladesh on April 29. 1991 and killed I 18 lakhs people. After this event, the Government immediately commissioned a study to find out ways and means to mitigate disastrous events and engaged national and international Experts under the financial assistance of (he UNDP. The reports and recommendations of this study were examined by a group of Expens and a panel of Professionals. Following

recommendations of the study, the Government established a Disaster Coordination and Monitoring Unit under the Ministry of Relief which was subsequently renamed as Disaster Management Bureau. This Bureau came into existence in the 1st half of 1993 and it is still in the formative stage but it has started activities in a very limited scale.

The responsibility of the Disaster Management Bureau is not to prevent disaster Which is not practically possible The primary responsibility of this Bureau is lo carry out activities with a view to reducing loss oi life and properties by disasters. Every disaster has three phases, pre-disaster. on-disaster and post-disaster. The main function of the Disaster Management

Bureau, consists in activities to be carried on. mostly during pre-disaster period, to make people of disaster prone areas aware of disasters and its impact, to make them capable of facing disaster with due preparation, so that loss of life and property can be reduced to minimum.In addition to this. Disaster Management Bureau will also (rain all Crisis Managers, both Government and non -Government organisations. to make them more efficient and effective so that they can, very quickly, alleviate sufferings of affected people in post disaster phase. These Crisis Managers always try to meet disaster situation without pre-planning and preparation i.e. on ad-hoc basis and that is why. they fail to. respond effectively and efficiently.As