Let Bengal be heard: dealing with Covid and cyclone Amphan together

Majumdar, Boria; DasGupta, Sunipa

doi:10.1080/19472498.2020.1780063

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…However, the returned labor force could not go back to their working places, causing temporary idle labour forces in the region. This compounded stress of lockdown and Amphan crippled local agriculture and rural livelihoods ( Majumdar and DasGupta, 2020 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-faceted impact and outcome of COVID-19 on smallholder agricultural systems: Integrating qualitative research and fuzzy cognitive mapping to explore resilient strategies

Goswami

Roy

Dutta

et al. 2021

Agricultural Systems

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The shock of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted food systems worldwide. Such disruption, affecting multiple systems interfaces in smallholder agriculture, is unprecedented and needs to be understood from multi-stakeholder perspectives. The multiple loops of causality in the pathways of impact renders the system outcomes unpredictable. Understanding the nature of such unpredictable pathways is critical to identify present and future systems intervention strategies. Our study aims to explore the multiple pathways of present and future impact created by the pandemic and “Amphan” cyclonic storm on smallholder agricultural systems. Also, we anticipate the behaviour of the systems elements under different realistic scenarios of intervention. We explored the severity and multi-faceted impacts of the pandemic on vulnerable smallholder agricultural production systems through in-depth interactions with key players at the micro-level. It provided contextual information, and revealed critical insights to understand the cascading effect of the pandemic and the cyclone on farm households. We employed thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders in Sundarbans areas in eastern India, to identify the present and future systems outcomes caused by the pandemic, and later compounded by “Amphan”. The immediate adaptation strategies of the farmers were engaging family labors, exchanging labors with neighbouring farmers, borrowing money from relatives, accessing free food rations, replacing dead livestock, early harvesting, and reclamation of waterbodies. The thematic analysis identified several systems elements, such as harvesting, marketing, labor accessibility, among others, through which the impacts of the pandemic were expressed. Drawing on these outputs, we employed Mental Modeler , a Fuzzy-Logic Cognitive Mapping tool, to develop multi-stakeholder mental models for the smallholder agricultural systems of the region. Analysis of the mental models indicated the centrality of “Kharif” (monsoon) rice production, current farm income, and investment for the next crop cycle to determine the pathways and degree of the dual impact on farm households. Current household expenditure, livestock, and soil fertility were other central elements in the shared mental model. Scenario analysis with multiple stakeholders suggested enhanced market access and current household income, sustained investment in farming, rapid improvement in affected soil, irrigation water and livestock as the most effective strategies to enhance the resilience of farm families during and after the pandemic. This study may help in formulating short and long-term intervention strategies in the post-pandemic communities, and the methodological approach can be used elsewhere to understand perturbed socioecological systems to formulate anticipatory intervention strategies based on collective wisdom of stakeholders.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-faceted impact and outcome of COVID-19 on smallholder agricultural systems: Integrating qualitative research and fuzzy cognitive mapping to explore resilient strategies

Goswami

Roy

Dutta

et al. 2021

Agricultural Systems

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“…Though cyclone Amphan made landfall in West Bengal, India, it barreled into Bangladesh through the Satkhira district with high-speed winds, torrential rain, and high tidal surge (Ellis-Petersen and Ratcliffe, 2020; Mishra and Vanganuru, 2020;Majumdar and DasGupta, 2020). When the strongest tropical cyclone Amphan (Category 5 Hurricane), was intimidating in the Bay of Bengal to wreak deadly havoc, Satkhira district was already dealing with 1617 active COVID-19 cases.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Still, many people didn’t evacuate in Bangladesh’s past cyclones due to public cyclone shelter problems, early warning related issues, socio-economic problems, and non-evacuees’ perceptions ( Saha and James, 2017 ; Paul and Dutt, 2010 ; Islam et al,2021 ; Ahsan et al, 2016a , Ahsan et al, 2016b ). On 20 May 2020, Bangladesh had to face the Super Cyclone Amphan, the strongest cyclone ever originated in the Bay of Bengal, with 60-90 Km/h wind speed and high tidal inundation ( Ellis-Petersen and Ratcliffe, 2020 ; Vinoj and Swain, 2020; Mishra & Vanganuru, 2020 ; Majumdar and DasGupta, 2020 ). Though Bangladesh had done a massive evacuation during cyclone Amphan, this cyclone was exceptional from all previous cyclones as an unprecedented dimension of the pandemic was added during that time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the nexus between public risk perception of COVID-19 and evacuation behavior during cyclone Amphan in Bangladesh

Alam

Chakraborty

2021

Heliyon

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In May 2020, when Bangladesh was struggling with community transmission of COVID-19, the country had to face the strongest tropical storm-Cyclone Amphan -which puts the evacuation process in jeopardy. Thus, it is crucial to measure the public risk perception about COVID-19 and its influence on the evacuation decision. This study explores the nexus between COVID-19 risk perception and coastal peoples' evacuation decisions during cyclone Amphan. With an analysis of 378 sample households survey data of the Satkhira district, this study developed the COVID-19 risk perception index using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and categorized the respondents based on the score. The result shows that 1.85 %, 21.43 %, 45.77 %, 25.13 %, and 5.82 % have very low, low, moderate, high, and very high-risk perceptions, respectively. The analysis also reveals that 96.6 % of the respondents received an evacuation order during Amphan, but only 42 % complied with the order. The t-test analysis and common language effect size test of the survey data reveal that the respondents with a high perception score are 65 % less likely to evacuate than the respondents with low perception scores. This study has important implications in guiding concerned authorities to combat natural disasters during COVID-19 and other similar public health emergencies in the future.

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“…The Sundarban region of West Bengal suffered from an estimated damage of US$13.0 billion (Basu, 2020). It affected 60 million people's lives and livelihoods, and destroyed 1.5 million dwellings (Majumdar & DasGupta, 2020). Moreover, 160 km long embankment was breached by the storm surges and gusting winds, and inundated thousands of acres of fertile agricultural lands by sea water (Majumdar & DasGupta, 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It affected 60 million people's lives and livelihoods, and destroyed 1.5 million dwellings (Majumdar & DasGupta, 2020). Moreover, 160 km long embankment was breached by the storm surges and gusting winds, and inundated thousands of acres of fertile agricultural lands by sea water (Majumdar & DasGupta, 2020). Saline water intrusion due to embankment failures and subsequent floods are also likely to impact long-term food and livelihood security.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Population health risks in multi-hazard environments: action needed in the Cyclone Amphan and COVID-19 – hit Sundarbans region, India

Pramanik

Szabo

Pal

et al. 2021

Climate and Development

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The local population of Sundarbans, an environmentally vulnerable delta region in southeastern India, is currently affected by combined negative impacts of cyclone Amphan and the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown measures have created an additional burden on the health care system, while flooding during Amphan increased the risk of spreading water-borne diseases. In this viewpoint, we provide a conceptual model of the complex interlinkages among the combined multi-hazard effects, human health and water availability, with possible mitigation measures. We then discuss the specific pathways through which these immediate and long-term impacts occur and highlight the risk of together slowing progress on SDG3 and SDG6 in the Sundarbans. Finally, we call for coordinated assessment, support and appropriate intervention measures to secure clean water availability and minimize the health impacts of the recent multiple disasters in this tropical delta region.

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Let Bengal be heard: dealing with Covid and cyclone Amphan together

Cited by 10 publications

References 1 publication

Multi-faceted impact and outcome of COVID-19 on smallholder agricultural systems: Integrating qualitative research and fuzzy cognitive mapping to explore resilient strategies

Multi-faceted impact and outcome of COVID-19 on smallholder agricultural systems: Integrating qualitative research and fuzzy cognitive mapping to explore resilient strategies

Understanding the nexus between public risk perception of COVID-19 and evacuation behavior during cyclone Amphan in Bangladesh

Population health risks in multi-hazard environments: action needed in the Cyclone Amphan and COVID-19 – hit Sundarbans region, India

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