DHAKA, 7 October 2007 (IRIN) - Rupchand Bibi is a widow with little more than a thatched hut along the Dharla, a relatively quiet river that meanders through much of Bangladesh from its origins in the Himalayas.

But this year – after unusually heavy monsoon rains – the Dharla took her home, rendering her and thousands more homeless.

"Each year the floods come and go, but my hut remained secure. This year the Dharla swallowed all my belongings. At 60 I am too weak to beg," she lamented.

With severe river-bank erosion a regular post-flood occurrence in Bangladesh, such stories are all too common. They do, however, underscore the importance of disaster preparedness in a country where disaster management efforts are well in place.

Major devastation

According to the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management (MoFDM), this year's dual floods affected 263 sub-districts in 46 of the country's 64 districts. The flooding began in the first week of August, followed by a second round in the first half of September.

Close to three million people are estimated to have been seriously affected.

At the end of September, almost 900,000 acres of crops had been damaged, while another 1.3 million acres were partially destroyed. Similarly, 84,321 houses, 563 educational institutions and 3,705km of road network were ruined.

Flood-related deaths stand at just over 1,000, with most caused by drowning, diarrhoea, respiratory tract infections and snake bites.

The government has disbursed cash assistance of US$260,000 and house-building relief of more than $7 million.

"Coordination of relief operations is very good this time. Relief materials are reaching the beneficiaries. There has been no major complaint of misappropriation," claimed Mohsena Ferdousi, joint secretary of the ministry of MoFDM, citing this year's strong response from donors and development partners, including the UN.

But while there is a clear framework for disaster management during early warning periods, actual disaster and post-disaster rehabilitation, there remain gaps in boosting ongoing preparedness levels.

"The orders aimed at combating natural disasters and reducing loss of life and property are now undergoing a review to update the document by including more disaster issues like tsunami, earthquake, drought and urban disasters," she elaborated.

As part of that effort, a Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme, supported by the UK's Department for International Development and the UN Development Programme, has been designed. Meanwhile, it is clear much more is needed at the community level as well.

Greater preparedness needed on local level

"Although there is a comprehensive programme at the national level to tackle disasters, the efforts at the grassroots and local levels need to be better coordinated," Anthony D'Cruze, Project Coordinator of Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service, an NGO, told IRIN.

Working in eight northern districts of the country, the NGO has a disaster management cell at local levels, conducting occasional mock preparedness drills, as well as disseminating pre-disaster knowledge to the villagers through community meetings.

"The government response comes after the disaster and that is fine. But disaster preparedness at the local government level is insufficient," D'Cruze alleged, adding that union parishads (rural community councils - the lowest tier of local government) lack the necessary funding to even hold regular meetings of their disaster management committees.

Due to its geographical location, Bangladesh frequently suffers from devastating natural hazards, including floods, cyclones, storm surges, tornadoes, river-bank erosion and drought.

Moreover, given its close proximity to the Himalayas, Bangladesh has a long history of seismic activity.

According to specialists, given the potential colossal loss of lives and property in such disasters, coupled with their frequency, Bangladesh remains one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world today – and one requiring a very strong level of preparedness to complement its current disaster-management activities.

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