Bangladesh: Coastal FloodingBy: Paul Stark

CONTEXT OF A DISASTERBangladesh has approximately a 150 million people population.

An estimated 50 million people live below the poverty line.

Approximately 25% of the country floods every year in the monsoon season.

The average person in Bangladesh lives on 500 US dollars a year.

Bangladesh is widely recognized to be a country most affected by global climate change.

Coastal inundation due to sea levels rising.

Most land is below 12 meters in elevation

Extreme coastal flooding can cause saline intrusion into aquifers.

RIVER FLOODING:

Bangladesh resides essentially on a series of deltas.

When the rivers flood a large portion of the country is inundated

Almost every year these floods cause a significant amount of damage and loss of life in the areas surrounding the rivers where crops such as rice are grown.

Ex. 2007 Flood “Inundated 32,000 sq. km, over 85,000 houses destroyed and almost 1 million damaged, approximately 1.2 million acres of crops destroyed or partially damaged, estimated damage over $1 billion, 649 deaths”

Global Climate Change is predicted to increase the frequency of these floods.

FLOODING!

TROPICAL CYCLONES:

Bangladesh is struck by a severe tropical cyclone on an average of every three years.

In the past up to 500,000 people have been killed in one cyclone season 1970.

As global temperatures rise, severe cyclone frequency increases.

Cyclones can generate waves and surges up to 7m high.

These surges can travel up to 30 miles inland due to the low topography.

Inhabitants of had some form of adoption in the form of apprx 2100 cyclone shelters that can house up to 2000 people each.

Cyclone Shelter

What to do about it?In reality, not much.

Continue to make meager adaptations to stem the loss of life in the face of increasingly frequent severe weather events.

Continue to appeal to high carbon emitting states to stem the output of atmospheric green house gasses in an effort to save their country from destruction.

RESOURCES:http://www.topnews.in/workers-strike-paralyses-bangladesh-river-operations-2233846http://freshclick.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/floods-in-bangladesh/

http://www.moef.gov.bd/moef.pdf

http://muktimusician.wordpress.com/floods-in-bangladesh/

http://www.tear.org.au/advocacy/campaigns/climate-change/bangladesh/

http://ecopolitology.org/2009/12/08/doling-out-the-non-existent-adaptation-funds-who-needs-it-most/