Author(s): Mashfiqus Salehin; Kenji Kawaike; Masakazu Hashimoto; Shammi Haque; K. M. Nabiul Islam; Ashrafunnahar; Arup Talukder
Linked Author(s): Kenji Kawaike, Masakazu Hashimoto
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Bangladesh is one of the most flood prone areas of the world because of its unique geographical setting and physiographic features together with a massive and unique hydraulic system. Socio-economic impact of floods is profound; the flood prone zones represent areas with the highest incidence of the extreme poor, and the number of poor living in high flood risk areas is on the rise. Floods cause huge economic damage, including damages to crops, culture fisheries, homesteads, and infrastructures (buildings, roads, bridges, market places or growth centers, industries etc. ). In Bangladesh, while agricultural damage is usually extensive, even in moderate floods, impacting the farming communities, non-crop damages have grown substantially over the years and have long been outweighing agricultural damage in terms of economic damage or loss. However, inundation has several beneficial functions, in the form of increasing soil fertility, enhancing groundwater recharge, moderating downstream flood risk via storage of floodwater in floodplain and augmentation of dry season flow vis release of floodplain water back to the river at the recession stage. Integrated flood risk management thus warrants maximizing the beneficial functions of floodplains and minimizing flood damage and losses. This can be achieved by reducing the intensity of hazards, by engineering or structural measures, which alter the frequency (i. e. the probability) of flood levels in an area, or reducing the exposure or damage susceptibility of the elements at risk, by non-structural measures, for example, through changing or regulating land use, through flood warning and effective emergency response, and through flood resistant construction techniques. Flood hazard and risk maps are helpful in identifying the suitable types of flood risk reduction measures.
Year: 2018