Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Type of Disasters ................................................................................................................................. 2
Disaster and Bangladesh ..................................................................................................................... 3
Disaster Risk Management ................................................................................................................. 4
Disasters as opportunities for development initiatives ...................................................................... 5
The Cyclone Aila and its Effects on the Coastal Areas of Bangladesh ................................................ 6
Disaster Response of the Cyclone Aila ................................................................................................ 6
Disaster Response of the Cyclone Aila ................................................................................................ 8
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 9
Reference ............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Introduction
Disaster means a serious disruption of the functioning of an individual, or a community, or a
society causing widespread human, material, economic and environmental losses which
exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.
- a serious situation occurs from a hazard/ multiple hazards;
- usually associated with severe damage, injury, death;
- may be widespread or contained within a particular sector;
- exceeds coping ability of affected individual, community, society.
WHO (World Health Organization) defines disaster as any occurrence that causes damage,
ecological disruption, loss of human life and deterioration of health and health services on a
scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community.
According to American Red Cross, A disaster can be defined as an occurrence either nature or
manmade that causes human suffering and creates human needs that victims cannot alleviate
without assistance.
Bangladesh is considered one of the most vulnerable countries for climate change in the world
because of increased intensity and frequency of natural disasters. Its geographical location
makes it prone to many kinds of hazards, e.g. cyclones, floods, earthquakes, etc. which cause
huge losses of lives and damage properties, livelihoods, and economic infrastructure. The
coastal regions are relatively more vulnerable to frequent natural disaster.

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Type of Disasters
Disaster is usually of 2 kinds. Natural and Human Induced or Man-made.

Natural Hazards Man Made Disasters

A .Geological 1. Earthquake 5. Warfare

2. Volcanic 6. Civil Disturbances
Eruption
7. Terrorist Activities
3. Land Slides
8. Population Explosion
4. River Erosion
9. Refugees
B. 1. Cyclone 10. Accidents
Climatologically
2. Flood 11. Mining Exploration
3. Drought
4. Cold Wave

C. 1. Green House
Environmental Effect
2. Deforestation
3. Desertification
4. Pest Attack
5. Arsenic
Contamination

D. Epidemic 1. Cholera
2. Small Pox
3. Dengue
4. Plague

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Disaster and Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s flat topography, low-lying and climatic features, combined with its population
density and socio-economic environment, make it highly susceptible to many natural hazards,
including floods, droughts, cyclones and earthquakes.
More than 80 percent of the population is potentially exposed to floods, earthquakes and
droughts, and more than 70 percent to cyclones. On average, the country experiences severe
tropical cyclone every three years, and about 25 percent of the land mass is inundated with
flood waters every year. Severe flooding occurs every 4-5 years and covers 60 percent of the
land mass. Here is a brief story of natural disasters Bangladesh faced over the years.

Year Disaster Deaths

1970 Cyclone 300,000

1988 Flood 2373

1988 Cyclone 5704

1989 Drought 800

1991 Cyclone 138,868

1996 Tornado 545

1997 Cyclone 550

1998 Flood 1050

2004 Flood 747

2007 Landslide 127

2007 Flood 1071

2007 Cyclone Sidr 3406

2009 Cyclone Aila 190

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Disaster Risk Management
Disaster risk management includes administrative decisions and operational activities that
involve:
• Prevention
• Mitigation
• Preparedness
• Response
• Recovery and
• Rehabilitation
All levels of government, non-government and community-based organizations play a vital
role in the process of disaster risk management.
Objectives of Disaster Risk Management are:
• To prevent the loss of lives and help to ensuring the security of the people live in
disaster prone areas.
• To mitigate the suffering of the victims.
• Aware the people about the existing risks hazards and develop the public awareness to
reduce the risks.
• To help the people reduce the loss of wealth and economic condition.
• To strengthen the rehabilitation and reconstruction for the development.
• To develop and reconstruction the social, economic & environmental conditions at post
-disaster period.

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Disasters as opportunities for development initiatives
Disasters can be a vehicle for major development programs. The political impact of damage
and disruption can be a real catalyst for change. Disaster inspired development initiatives are
influenced in a number of ways, but two aspects are especially important. First, disasters can
highlight particular areas of vulnerability, for example where serious loss of life has occurred,
or where the economic damage is disproportionate to the strength of the impact. The outcome
of this is usually to highlight the general level of underdevelopment. Second, for a few weeks
or months, the political environment may favor a much higher rate of economic and social
change than before, in areas such as land reform, new job training, housing improvements, and
restructuring of the economic base (note however that this may involve a transfer of resources
from other areas and sectors).
The value of direct international assistance given after disasters may partially compensate for
economic losses, although the amounts are usually rather small in relation to the total loss.
Early injections of aid rarely constitute more than ten percent of the overall losses and are
usually considerably less than that. In the following months and years, there may be additional
longer-term development aid, which would otherwise not have been made available.
There may also be longer-term benefits from a drastic restructuring of the economy as a result
of a disaster. For example, small island economies which were previously dependent on a
single crop may expand their economic base, often with international assistance.
The extent to which development opportunities can be followed up after a disaster will usually
be constrained or otherwise influenced by donor investment policy for emergency loans. It is
illustrative to review the current World Bank criteria for emergency lending for post-disaster
investment. According to the Bank:
• the operation must be directed as restoring assets or productivity in a long-term
development perspective - not relief
• the prospective economic returns should be high
• the effects of the emergency should be significant
• the event triggering the emergency should have a low probability of happening again
soon
• the need for an urgent response should be evident
• emergency lending is limited to cases where effective action can be felt in two to three
years
• there should be some prospect for future reduction in the hazard

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The Cyclone Aila and its Effects on the Coastal Areas of Bangladesh
The catastrophic cyclone Aila hit the south-western coast of Bangladesh on 25 May 2009 and
affected 15 districts, 76 Upazila and 491 Unions. When hit cyclone Aila the speed of wind was
95 km per hour. Around 190 peoples died 7103 injuries and affected about 3.9 million people.
Some 100, 00 livestock were killed and almost 350,000 acres of cropland were destroyed. Apart
from this, many infrastructures have been damaged. The damage to the coastal embankment
network was severe and directly contributed to the continuation of the post‐cyclone scenario
(widespread flooding and tidal inundation) faced by the worst affected communities. The loss
of assets from Aila is about $ 270 million US dollars. 13 feet high storm surge submerged
almost all the affected areas and left almost all the water bodies within the saline, making it
unusable and resulted in severe scarcity of fresh water food etc. and destruction of house,
toilets, road, dam etc. This surge of water damaged and washed away over 1,742 km’s of
embankments, removing the only protection available to many people along the coast. (UN
assessment report, 2010). The storm lingered over the coast of Bangladesh for a comparatively
longer time than cyclone Sidr (2007), which further increased its impact.

Disaster Response of the Cyclone Aila

Within hours of the natural disaster, as part of emergency relief, BDRCS distributed cash to its
respective units to purchase dry foods. Additionally, BDRCS in a joint effort with the IFRC,
mobilized assessment teams for further emergency response. The government of Bangladesh
and Bangladesh navy, together with local administrations and non-governmental organizations,
provided significant assistance during the initial relief operation. The immediate response by
the BDRCS and IFRC included non-food item (NFI) packages comprising of plastic sheets,
water jerry cans and hygiene parcels. These were dispatched from pre-positioned stock and
distributed to 10,000 households within the eight most affected areas (Barisal, Bhola, Pirojpur,
Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, Barguna and Patuakhali). The BDRCS and IFRC collaborated with
Save the Children and Oxfam and provided 11,000 water jerry cans for the beneficiaries. Jerry
cans allow beneficiaries to collect clean drinking water from the water treatment plants set up
by Save the Children and Oxfam in the affected areas. The early recovery delegate from the
Asia Pacific Zone arrived in July to take note of the relief distribution status and to develop a
more comprehensive understanding about cyclone Aila relief distribution. A detailed shelter
assessment for Khulna and Satkhira districts was carried out by a shelter delegate from the
Spanish Red Cross supported by the IFRC’s emergency shelter cluster coordination team. The
findings were shared within the Movement and the cyclone Aila response shelter-working
group. In Satkhira districts, a total of 770 households were assisted with cash grant in two
categories to rehabilitate their livelihood option.
BDRCS has reached 35,710 families with food and non-food items (NFIs), emergency shelter
materials as well as livelihood support. Some of the major items for emergency shelter, such
as, water and health packages like tarpaulin, hygiene parcels, and water jerry cans were
mobilized from the cyclone Sidr stock.
Following the IFRC’s global commitment towards the IASC cluster approach, a special
dedicated team was deployed to coordinate the activities of the various agencies involved with

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emergency sheltering. The IFRC coordination team ended its mission as cluster lead on 4
August 09, and the Shelter Cluster proceeded as the Shelter Working Group, led by the UNDP.
According to the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management (MFDM), more than 7,103 people
were wounded and more than 3,928,238 people were affected. River embankments broke and
road networks, water and communication systems were hampered. The national newspapers
reported a scarcity of food, drinking water, and medicines for those who were in cyclone
shelters. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that a total of 686 medical teams,
including doctors and health assistants, worked in the districts of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat,
Barisal, Bhola, Barguna, Pirojpur and Patuakhali for providing emergency medical care, mostly
first aid. The coordination meeting between the government and non-government organizations
(NGOs) was held on 11 June 2009. At that meeting, the government of Bangladesh requested
the national and international humanitarian community for their support in early recovery
activities. On 19 July 2009 the government of Bangladesh sought US $1,149 million) for
mitigating the impact of natural disasters and for conducting rehabilitation programs for the 11
Aila affected coastal districts. Other organizations, including several humanitarian agencies
and two international NGOs, continued to provide assistance with non-food items (NFIs) and
food items (FI), safe drinking water supply, water purification tablets (WPT), oral rehydration
solution (ORS) sachets. The Islamic Development Bank provided agricultural rehabilitation
support, including seeds and fertilizer. The World Bank carried out a social protection program
for the affected people of cyclone Aila. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
also provided assistance for community forestry. The European Commission’s Humanitarian
Aid Office department funded an early recovery program including livelihood rehabilitation,
food security and education support on a long-term basis. On the other hand, some local and
national NGOs, including the Bangladesh rural advancement committee (BRAC), were also
very active in providing support for cyclone Aila victims along with their regular programs.
They distributed FIs and NFIs to families in the most affected districts.

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Disaster Response of the Cyclone Aila
In order to assist cyclone Aila affected people different humanitarian agencies worked together
in post disaster recovery activities to address their unmet needs in terms of livelihood and
shelter. After years of cyclone Aila, thousands of affected people were still living in temporary
shelters on damaged embankments under rough conditions waiting to return to their homes.
They were facing a scarcity of drinking water, a lack of sanitation facilities and insufficient
resources to resume normal life. Security and the privacy are a major concern among the
number of women living on and around the embankments. Recognizing this, the Government
of Bangladesh, UNDP and other international partners initiated reconstruction efforts that
would support these communities in ‘building back better.’ Beginning in October 2012,
representatives of UNDP’s Early Recovery Facility (ERF) worked with local administrators
and government officials to identify families in the cyclone-affected areas who were eligible
to receive what is called a ‘core family shelter.’ A core family shelter is a permanent structure
that incorporates risk reduction features into its design. It can withstand cyclones up to
Category 4 strength, and is big enough, in the event of disaster, to offer a safe place for
beneficiaries, their immediate relatives and neighbors. Shelters are 1.5 stories high and
constructed with locally available, environmentally friendly materials. The indoor space has a
mezzanine floor that provides privacy and functional flexibilities, includes water-harvesting
facilities, and is built so as to accommodate additions. Through the life of the program, 265
families were selected to receive these shelters. To help improve gender asset equality, a
family’s husband and wife own the shelters jointly. Freshwater receptacles were created, 3 km
embankments were rebuilt and 3km of afforestation was implemented. Overall, by June 2014,
16,755 people affected by Aila benefitted from the comprehensive recovery effort. They also
received training on hygiene, disaster preparedness and livestock nurturing, as well as received
a cash grant of BDT 10,000 to start a new livelihood. the government with the help of the army
has taken the initiative to rebuild sections of the embankment through cash for work (CFW).

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Conclusion
In comparison to earlier cyclones, that of similar magnitude, Cyclone Aila caused lower death
toll due to implementation of efficient early warning systems, cyclone shelters and disaster
relief allocation system. The Government of Bangladesh was praised domestically and
internationally for its implementation of effective disaster management projects that have
reduced death tolls in Cyclone Aila and future cyclones that have struck the country it since.
Cyclone Aila has been described as a benchmark of Bangladesh's success in implementation
of effective disaster management system. The Government of Bangladesh was praised
domestically and internationally for its implementation of effective disaster management
projects that have reduced death tolls in Cyclone Aila and future cyclones that have struck the
country since. Cyclone Aila has been described as a benchmark of Bangladesh's success in
implementation of effective disaster management system.
Examples like this in Bangladesh show that you can safeguard development - or in this case
re-development - by incorporating disaster risk concerns.