Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Bangladesh Floods 2004
- Location and facts
- A small, low lying Asian country
- An LEDC
- Bordered by India and
Myanmar (Burma)
- Population: 158 million
- Impacts
- Transport
- Airports, roads
and railways
were destroyed
- This meant that it was
very difficult to
transport aid and food
resources to those
affected by the flooding
- 11,000 km of roads were destroyed
- Economic
- Cost of
damage to
schools
and
hospitals:
$7bn
- Main food
crop, rice, was
destroyed
- Shipping from the main
port was disrupted
- Over 400 factories closed
- Social
- 600 people died
as a direct result
of the flooding
- 750 people died
from other
causes linked to
the flooding
- 30 million were left homeless
- 100,000 in the
capital (Dhaka) had
diarrhoea
- 60% of Bangladesh was submerged
- In 2006, half the
population lived
below the poverty
line
- 1/4 million had dirty water
- 500,000 cattle were killed
- Causes
- Physical
- 70% of
Bangladesh
is less than
1m above sea
level
- Monsoon
rainfall is
concentrated
into a few
months
- When the ground is
saturated, surface
run off is very high
- 35cm of rain
fell in 1 day
(13th
September)
- High temperatures causes rapid snow
melt in the Himalayas
- 2 big rivers (Ganges and
Brahmaputra) run through
Bangladesh
- Coastal tropical
storms can prevent
flood water escaping
to the sea
- The river can
spread quickly
across flat land
- Silt is brought down by
the river and raises
river beds, decreasing
river capacity
- The Bay of Bengal is
a funnel shape and
gets shallower
towards the coast
- Bangladesh
experienced its
heaviest rain in 50
years
- Human
- Deforestation
has occurred
in the
Himalayas
- Building has
happened on
floodplains,
which increases
surface run off
- Global warming is causing
glaciers in the Himalayas to
melt and sea levels to rise
- Responses
- Short term
- Food supplies, medicines
and blankets were
distributed
- The UN launched an appeal for
$74m but only 20% had arrived by
September
- Water aid provided water
purification tablets
- Long term
- Authorities are encouraging
people to build their homes
on raised mounds of land
- Food shelters have
been built and flood
warning systems have
been established
- Embankments
have been
built
- The world bank gave
a 5 year loan to help
with repairs
- 70,000 children were helped by
school boats