Home PodcastJulie Alli Bangladesh flooding will only get worse as time goes on

Bangladesh flooding will only get worse as time goes on

by Salaamedia Intern
The floods that occurred in 2020 will only get worse as time goes on due to climate change Photo The Siasat Daily

Bangladesh – Bangladesh is a land with many rivers running through it. As a result, they have yearly floods. The increase in severity of yearly floods leave the country’s citizens struggling to survive. The resilience of people in the northeast is slowly being eroded as the floods become worse every year.

In May, Bangladesh’s northeast was hit by flash floods. In June and July the monsoon brought erratic and excessive rainfall. According to India’s government data, 970 millimetres (38 inches) of rain was recorded in just one day. This unprecedented amount of rainfall is due to climate change, said Khin Maung, Founder and Coordinator of Rohingya Youth Organisation.

“Climate change is one of the major challenges. Right now, the people are suffering. Unfortunately, most of the country are not accepting that this issue is a global issue and important for everyone. This is the unpleasant thing. We are not considering the issue of climate change … Every year Bangladesh people suffer because the country is very low laying.”

 

India is also responsible for the floods

One of the other major issues besides climate change is the water that runs from India to Bangladesh via the rivers. These excessive amounts of water have put a strain on the land. There is no way Bangladesh can control this excessive amount of water flowing through their lands, said Maung.

“The Bangladesh media, the politicians are saying India cannot control the amount of water they send through Bangladesh [from the rivers]. Bangladesh has no capacity and capability to stop these huge amounts of water that flows. India is responsible for that. India should be working together to put this river water in a better place, in a better way.”

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Educating the people of Bangladesh on how to protect themselves

These yearly floods are nothing new. Most of those who stay in the affected region build their houses on high platoons to get away from the floods. However, with climate change on the rise and the severe rains, water levels were much higher than previous years. Before the people can be educated, Maung believes it is imperative the world accepts climate change is a real thing.

“The world is not recognising climate change. This is one of the global issues and the global crisis. It is a matter of life and death. First the world has to accept that and the United Nations have to take responsibility to do what they can within their capacity. I have already seen the consequences. Some of the local youth and the activists are focused on climate change. They are doing regular awareness campaigns.” 

Bangladesh is planning on launching a national plan to help manage increasing natural disasters. This will be exhibited at the COP27 Climate Summit in Egypt. There are many different ideas being thrown around including dredging the local rivers as well as introducing floating houses. One floating house has already been introduced and there is hope if it succeeds, it can not only provide a solution for the flooding but also provide a stable home for those in the impacted region.

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