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Reducing risks of summer disasters

Farid Hasan Ahmed
BANGLADESH, with a population of 160 million, is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. In summer, it faces tornadoes, flash floods and cyclones. Lives, livelihoods and properties are lost in these disasters.
Tornadoes: Tornadoes mainly occur in the pre-monsoon (March-May), and post-monsoon (October- November) periods. They are formed suddenly and for a brief duration, and are extremely localised in nature. It is the pre-monsoon period when most of the abnormal rainfall or drought conditions frequently occur in different parts of Bangladesh.
The deadliest tornado in Bangladesh's history occurred in Saturia in Manikganj District on April 26, 1989. It killed around 1,300 people.
There are also severe local seasonal storms, popularly known as kalbaishakhi (nor'westers). Severe nor'wester is generally associated with tornadoes. Wind-speeds in nor'westers usually range between 113-130 km/hr (70-80 miles/hr), though often their speed exceeds 162 km/hr (100 miles/hr).
Since independence in 1971, Bangladesh has experienced several major tornadoes, killing on average more than 100 people in each event and causing severe damage in their narrow paths.
Cyclones and storm surges: Tropical cyclones from the Bay of Bengal accompanied by storm surges are one of the major disasters in Bangladesh. They occur mainly in April/May and October/November. The county is one of the worst sufferers from cyclonic storms in the world.
Cyclones and storm surges are a continuous threat for the coastal population. The average annual frequency of tropical disturbances in the Bay of Bengal ranges between 12 and 13, of which 5 attain cyclonic strength. Most of these cyclones strike land on the Bangladesh coast or the coasts of Myanmar and
India. On April, 29, 1991, a powerful cyclone struck the coastal area of Bangladesh with winds of around 250 km/h. It killed at least 138,000 people, and left as many as 10 million homeless. The cyclonic storm "Aila" hit the south western part (Khulna Division) on May 25, 2009, killing approximately 190 in Bangladesh. Several hundred thousand homes were washed away when wind-driven tidal surges up to 3 meters destroyed the coastal belt of Khulna region.
Flash floods: Haor areas of the north-eastern part of the country mainly face flash floods caused by sudden and rapid downstream flow of water from upstream during the period late March to May. These floods cause damage to crops and property and are followed by relatively rapid recession. Haors are important areas for boro rice cultivation (a rice variety cultivated from December to May). But early flash floods often wash away standing crops and people lose their harvest. The country had experienced increased occurrence of flash floods in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010 in the haor areas that damaged the main paddy crops of the region.
Taking into account the risk and vulnerability of Bangladesh to the summer disasters, the following recom-mendations are placed to relevant organisa-tions/actors/authorities for appropriate strategies and actions in improving the emergency and disaster risk reduction performances.
Emergency management: The key tasks are mentioned below for effective emergency management.
Readiness for a rapid response: This encompasses those measures taken before a disaster event which are aimed at minimising loss of life, making critical services available, and preventing damage when the disaster occurs. It includes the formulation of workable hazard-specific emergency plan, development of warning systems, maintenance of inventories and training of workforce. It may also include search and rescue measures as well as evacuation plans for communities at risk.
Prior to any emergency situation, the contingency plan
provides the basis for identifying and further developing response capacity. The contingency plan is the basis of readiness and covers; (i)analysis of the context, risk mapping and identification of likely emergency scenarios, (ii) mapping of capacity, vulnerabilities, constraint and resources, tangible/intangible assets, and (iii) identification of other external organisations' capacity, constraint and resources in the department/ministry/area/country/region.
Reduction of risks: It is expected that responsible authorities will act appropriately for reducing the disaster risks in line with the disaster management vision of the government. The vision is to reduce the risk of people, especially the poor and the disadvantaged, from the effects of natural, environmental and human induced hazards to a manageable and acceptable humanitarian level, and to have in place an efficient emergency response system capable of handling large-scale disasters. The major areas of interventions for reducing summer disaster risk could be:
1) Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in existing development works and future initiatives of government departments and non-government organisations (NGOs) of the country is very important. The authorities concerned should develop disaster data base, which is very important for carrying out detailed study and planning. The government authorities and NGOs need to redesign their development programmes with the active participation of the most vulnerable communities to ensure that they maximise disaster mitigation potential and incorporate traditional community coping practices which are appropriate technically, environmentally and economically. Some targeted but tested disaster risk reduction activities, both structural (embankments, river protection, cyclone shelters, housing scheme) and non-structural, could be undertaken in consultation with the community in relevant organisations.
2) Appropriate feasibility and cost benefit analysis of independent authorities is very much needed for taking any structural protection initiatives. Public hearing and consultation is important in this regard.
3) The respective authorities at different levels should strengthen capacity building initiatives of local government and communities at risk. A well organised and coordinated effort is needed to further strengthen local level planning, implement decision making process, and allocate resources to local government for disaster proof programme in the vulnerable location. Resources from central government and others should be ensured by authorities and policy makers.
4) Bangladesh is capable of forecasting cyclones and river floods, but there are a lot of gaps and limitations in forecasting flash floods and tornadoes. Improvement of present forecasting system is very much needed. Bangladesh flood and flash flood warning information will not be at desired level without establishment of a regional data sharing and cooperation framework. A tornado forecasting system is needed where Bangladesh Meteorological Department and SPARRSO may play a significant role as tornado builds up on land and provides minimum time for early warning and forecasting.
Effective initiatives by the responsible authorities in disaster risk reduction are essential for the safety of a large number of vulnerable people. The key government agencies and relevant organisations need to know the previously adopted "all hazard-all risk-all sector approach" the Disaster Management Act 2012 endorses and promotes. The approach equally focuses on disaster risk reduction and emergency response management, with greater emphasis on equitable and sustainable development. Understanding and enabling policies and acts like Disaster Management Act, Standing Orders on Disasters and National Building Code, through political determination, administrative diligence, appropriate resources, and accurate planning and monitoring mechanism are of utmost priority for the concerned authorities and organisations in this respect.
The writer is Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Practitioner. A Fellow of EPFL, Switzerland.
(The views are the writer's own)