Natural Disasters and Bangladesh

Bangladesh is going through a bad time due to one natural disaster after another. People are lost due to natural disasters like cyclones, floods, tidal waves, lightning, earthquakes, landslides etc. These disasters are accompanied by epidemic coronaviruses. The people of the country are devastated by the effects of natural disasters and corona. Many are living helplessly. Many are not eating day after day. Many people have lost their homes and are still under the open sky.

This natural disaster has become a big challenge for Bangladesh in the 21st century. Natural disasters have not left us in the lurch for the past few years. We are also dealing with natural disasters as a result of climate change. Bangladesh is one of the countries that is currently facing severe losses due to climate change. However, the amount of loss this year is much higher than previous years. One of the reasons for this is the continuous disaster in the country.

The deadly coronavirus, which originated from Wuhan in China's Hubei province on December 16 last year, spread to 213 countries and regions around the world, including Bangladesh. Then the first corona patient was identified in Bangladesh on 7 March. After that, the number of people affected by corona and death started increasing. It is thought that with adequate testing, most people in the country would now be infected with the virus.

Despite 7 days of lockdown due to epidemic corona, people did not feel any relief. Rather, the number of deaths and injuries has increased. Increased hunger. The people of the country have lost their way. There are no jobs, no jobs, no business, layoffs, shutdown of mills, closure of garment industry, etc.

The catastrophic super cyclone Cyclone Amphan hit the country at this critical time. In the past years, catastrophic cyclones like Aila, Sidr, Foni and Nargis have hit, but this time Amphan's blow was very strong. The coastal area was razed to the ground by Amphan. Hundreds of houses were destroyed. Many people are killed starting from cattle.

According to a statistic, Amphan has lost more than 1.3 billion US dollars. Another catastrophe associated with cyclones is tidal surges. The tidal wave originates from a strong storm. We know that there are 16 coastal areas in the country. Every year, tidal surges cause heavy loss of life and damage in those coastal areas, especially in Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat.

Then the epidemic began. Extreme levels of flood danger were announced in at least two places. After the terrible flood in the first phase, now the flood is going on in the second phase. Hundreds of thousands of people were stranded in the floods. Particularly in Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj and Netrokona, the floods have become severe. Currently flood waters are flowing over the danger line. The food and clean water crisis has taken a terrible turn. Village after village, union after union is submerged in water. Many people today are without food and shelter. Millions of people are living in misery.

The free flow of flood water is breaking the banks, breaking the houses, destroying the crop fields. The tree is uprooted. Hat-bazaar is disappearing. The seedbed of dreams is being sown. Roads and ghats have been submerged. The house sank. There is not much space. Just water and water all around. This is how the flood waters are flowing in different districts of the country. Thousands of people are fleeing to safety as their headwaters are washed away by the Tukuo Ban. Many have taken shelter in the high places of the dam without getting houses. Again some have taken refuge.

The flood situation in the country is deteriorating. Due to multiple floods, the suffering in the northern and northeastern districts of the country is now extreme. Residents of these areas have to face various hardships including crop loss and flooding of houses. There have already been reports of food crises in some places. Several days of continuous rains have raised fears of a flood situation. Many are worried that this year's flood may be prolonged.

Another natural disaster in Bangladesh is called lightning. At present, the number of deaths due to lightning is also high. In the first six months of this year, 243 people lost their lives in lightning in Bangladesh. This time the highest number of deaths was in Gaibandha district (13 people), 11 people in Habiganj and Kishoreganj districts and 10 people in Naogaon and Mymensingh districts. Of these, 60 died in April alone. This is a thunder signal for us.

According to media reports, 2,084 people have been killed by lightning in Bangladesh in the last 10 years (2010-2020 / June) till June 2020. Of these, 528 are children, 401 are women and 1,848 are men. In the last 10 years, the lowest total of 123 people were killed in 2010 and the highest number of 350 people were killed in 2016. In the rest of the year, the number fluctuates between 200 and 300.

Besides, experts have been fearing a strong earthquake and tsunami in Bangladesh for a long time. Accidents that can happen at any time. So post-earthquake preparations are very important. The quake affected Bangladesh at about half the magnitude of neighboring Nepal, China and India. According to a statistic of geologists, 70 to 80 percent of the buildings in the capital Dhaka are in danger of collapsing and tilting if there is an earthquake in Bangladesh equal to Nepal. A magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the Richter scale would cause 82,000 buildings to collapse in the capital Dhaka alone. At the same time about 90 thousand people will lose their lives. In this case, we need to be careful now.

Every year many people die in the country due to landslides. One of the reasons for these landslides is heavy rains, illegal logging, deforestation and so on.

It's time to dump her and move on. If we are not careful now, we will have to face more terrible situations next time. It is not possible for the government alone to deal with disasters, it requires integrated initiatives. The government is trying its best. However, permanent solutions must be found now to prevent disasters. And to implement these, the government has to take timely steps to prevent disasters. In this case, adequate allocation has to be determined in the disaster sector and its proper use has to be ensured.

We can mention two directions as to what to do in disaster prevention. First, disaster preparedness; Second, post-disaster preparedness.

First, the government needs to adopt a sound pre-planning. In this case, it is necessary to build adequate shelters and ensure proper role of the media. Shallow river dredging is required. Dams will have to be built on the banks of dangerous rivers. Extensive publicity should be given about possible disasters. Roads need to be strengthened. People need to be made more aware in dealing with disasters. Second, post-disaster relief needs to reach the victims quickly. Where there is a shortage of potable water, potable water should be provided.

The shelters of the victims need to be repaired immediately. Those who have suffered financially will have to pay compensation. Above all, in order to reduce the amount of such damage in the future, initiatives must be taken. In the post-disaster period, we all need to take concerted efforts along with the government. Various non-governmental organizations also have to stand by the victims.