Reducing the health effect of natural hazards in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh, with a population of 151 million people, is a country that is particularly prone to natural disasters: 26% of the population are aff ected by cyclones and 70% live in fl ood-prone regions. Mortality and morbidity from these events have fallen substantially in the past 50 years, partly because of improvements in disaster management. Thousands of cyclone shelters have been built and government and civil society have mobilised strategies to provide early warning and respond quickly. Increasingly, fl ood and cyclone interventions have leveraged community resilience, and general activities for poverty reduction have integrated disaster management. Furthermore, overall population health has improved greatly on the basis of successful public health activities, which has helped to mitigate the eff ect of natural disasters. Challenges to the maintenance and reduction of the eff ect of cyclones and fl oods include rapid urbanisation and the growing eff ect of global warming. Although the eff ects of earthquakes are unknown, some eff orts to prepare for this type of event are underway.

Ensuring adaptation to climate change does not increase health risks from the built environment

“…It is generally accepted that the poor and others who are less able to adapt will suffer the most, and there is the potential for violence [65]. The poor often face greater risk because their homes offer the least protection and the most vulnerable to die in natural disasters are women, elderly people and children [26].…”

“…The most crucial disaster planning element and intervention post-disaster to have in place is provision of potable water followed by the provision of food, health care and other necessary relief services [26].…”

“…It was the scene of eight of the ten costliest disasters during the 20 th century [24]. Bangladesh is one of the poorest and most flood-prone countries in the world doi: 10.7243/2050-1323-5-1 who face the highest risk of flooding but are the least well prepared to deal with it [25], although it has developed some effective mitigation strategies [26]. It is also expected that over 50% of the population will be adversely affected with a 4ºC increase in temperature [27].…”

“…The number of their (future) megacities and their individual exposures puts them seriously at risk of very high death rates in future seismic events [49]. Bangladesh is in the unenviable position of being at severe risk of flooding and cyclones as well as earthquakes; the latter of which are due to its high population density, poor enforcement of building codes, a large number of earthquake-prone buildings and over-stretched infrastructure of roads, electricity and water supplies [26].…”

“…138,000 people died [88]. Storm surges caused by cyclones normally cause considerable death and damage as they have reached 10 metres in height and led to extensive inland flooding in Bangladesh [26].…”