South Asia Flood Death Toll Rises to 4,000 as UN Seeks More Aid

By Michael Heath

Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The death toll from monsoon floods in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan rose to more than 4,000 people and the humanitarian crisis could worsen without more aid, the United Nations said.

Floods in the June to September monsoon season ``disrupted the lives of more than 66 million -- a number larger than the population of France'' the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said yesterday in a statement.

Rains last month inundated areas that were starting to recover from flooding, stranding another 100,000 people in Bangladesh and leaving millions homeless in India, OCHA said. Northeast India was hit by three successive floods this year.

Stagnant waters are contributing to the outbreak of disease, the UN said. In Pakistan, more than 86,000 cases of malaria have been reported and 70,000 people are suffering from gastroenteritis, mainly from drinking contaminated water.

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Bangladesh: Disaster Management Information Centre situation report 23 Sep 2007 18:00

Special Weather Bulletin; Report on Cyclone Speculated Districts; Flood, Rainfall and River Situation; Summary of Water Levels; Flood Forecast (24 & 48 Hrs); Weather Forecast and District Wise Flood Status

Current Situation: Maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Mongla have been advised to hoist local cautionary signal no. three (r) three. All fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay have been advised to remain in shelter till further notice. Overall flood situation of the country continued in improving trend and will continue. The Brahmaputra-Jamuna and the Ganges–Padma continued falling and will fall further. Flood situation in the South-central part of the country is likely to improve further and will continue. All small rivers surrounding Dhaka district are receding and the trend will continue. The prevailing flood situation in the districts of Sylhet & Sunamganj is improving slowly and is likely to improve further.

SPECIAL WEATHER BULLETIN (on September 23, 2007 at 0830 BST)

THE ORISSA COAST CROSSING MONSOON DEEP DEPRESSION CROSSED ORISSA COAST OF INDIA NEAR PARADWIP BY EARLY MORNING TODAY (23 SEPTEMBER 2007) AND NOW LIES OVER ORISSA AND ADJOINING AREA AS A LAND DEPRESSION. IT IS LIKELY MOVE IN A NORTH-NORTHWESTERLY DIRECTION FURTHER INLAND AND WEAKEN GRADUALLY BY GIVING PRECIPITATION. UNDER ITS INFLUENCE STEEP PRESSURE GRADIENT PERSISTS OVER NORTH BAY. SQUALLY WEATHER MAY AFFECT THE MARITIME PORTS.

MARITIME PORTS OF CHITTAGONG, COX'S BAZAR AND MONGLA HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO LOWER LOCAL WARNING SIGNAL NUMBER FOUR (R) FOUR BUT INSTEAD HOIST LOCAL CAUTIONARY SIGNAL NUMBER THREE (R) THREE.

ALL FISHING BOATS AND TRAWLERS OVER NORTH BAY HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO REMAIN IN SHELTER TILL FURTHER NOTICE.

[NO FURTHER SPECIAL WEATHER BULLETIN WILL BE ISSUED IN THIS SERIES]

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Floods and obsolete warning system

By Justice P. H. K. Kulatilaka

A flood is defined as a body of water that rises to overflow into land settlements which are not normally under water. When there is heavy rainfall in the catchment areas it is natural that flood situation will arise. Floods invariably create problems of a serious nature. Hence it is considered a natural disaster.

Riverine floods develop slowly when there is rainfall for a continuous period, especially during monsoons. It may come in the form of a flash floods with excessive rainfall falling within a period of time duration. This happens when a tropical cyclone or a depression strikes. Flooding can also occur from a dam breach episode producing effects similar to a flash flood. The flood effect can be of a local impact in the neighbourhood or community or it can be very large or it could be floods affecting a large area of the river basin.

Riverine floods

Sri Lanka is blessed with 103 rivers. Of these 17 rivers are associated with flood problems. These 17 rivers have a catchments area of about 1,600 square kilometres. It is a known fact that with the population explosion since independence, land area has become scarce and as a result low income families were forced to occupy flood plains of rivers which have been demarcated as reservations. A case in point is the unprotected areas between the bunds in the Kelani basin where people are now living. When the water level reaches, 5 feet mean sea level (msl) some of these areas within the unprotected area in the Kelani basin get submerged, when flood water rises up to 7 feet msl. all unprotected areas go under water. Flood situations would arise due to unscrupulous actions of man. Putting up structures and land use without considering flood risks have often invited flood situations. "Uncontrolled/unplanned" land use in the Kelani Ganga catchment area is an example. It has posed problems in carrying out dynamic flood control plans.

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29 more die in South Asia floods

GUWAHATI, India (AFP) — Severe flooding in India and Bangladesh claimed 29 more lives overnight as officials warned Sunday there was more rain ahead in a deluge that has marooned or displaced millions.

More than 3,200 people have now been killed in the two countries in what officials are calling the worst monsoon season in decades, which has also ruined hundreds of millions of dollars in crops.

In India's northeastern Assam state, one of the regions hardest hit by the floods, 10 people drowned while trying to escape the water's fury, said the state's relief minister, Bhumidar Barman.

"The situation is still critical in many areas with millions of people lodged at makeshift shelters," Barman said, noting that the forecast called for more thundershowers in the coming 24 hours.

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Bangladesh flood death toll crosses 1,000

DHAKA: The death toll from flooding this year in impoverished Bangladesh crossed 1,000 on Saturday with a further 2.5 million people displaced or marooned by rising river waters, officials said.

The Brahmaputra and the Ganges began swelling again early this week, bursting their banks and submerging thousands of villages again in more than a third of the country, the government flood centre said.

The government’s health department said in the last two days 23 people have died in the low-lying nation, mostly drowning in swirling flood water, taking this year’s monsoon death toll to 1,023. More than 2.5 million people have been marooned or displaced by the new flooding, while crops across two million acres (800,000 hectares) of land have been completely or partially damaged, the centre said.

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Bangladesh says new flood-resistant rice offers hope to farmers

5 days ago

DHAKA (AFP) — A new strain of rice may be able to resist floods that destroy vast tracts of paddy fields in Bangladesh each year, offering hope to millions of poor farmers, researchers say.

The farmers lose their rice crops when fields are submerged by annual floods triggered when rivers, fed by heavy monsoon rains and melting Himalayan glaciers, burst their banks.

The rice type, called Swarna Submergence 1, developed by the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), proved to be flood resistant in trials this year in northern Bangladesh, researchers said.

Normal rice varieties cannot survive being submerged by flood water for more than three days, resulting in huge losses for farmers.

But "last month when the flood water receded from two farms in which Swarna Sub-1 was planted, we saw the rice paddy stand up again, 10 days after it was completely submerged by water," said senior researcher Abdul Mazid.

"It was simply amazing. It means the variety has proved flood-resistant. It could be a huge step towards helping millions of rice farmers who are made paupers by floods," said Mazid of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).

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Bangladesh: Disaster Management Information Centre situation report 14 Sep 2007 18:00

Flood, Rainfall and River Situation; Summary of Water Levels; Flood Forecast (24 & 48 Hrs); Weather Forecast, Districts wise flood status.

Current Situation: Monsoon is fairly active over Bangladesh and moderate elsewhere over North Bay. The mighty Brahmaputra-Jamuna has started falling at Noonkhawa, Chilmari & Bahadurabad and the river is expected to record fall at Serajganj and Aricha from evening today and the falling trend will continue. The Ganges-Padma continued rising and is likely to rise further at a lower rate. The flood situation in the South-central part of the country is deteriorating and is likely to continue The prevailing flood situation in the districts of Sylhet & Sunamganj has started improving and will continue

FLOOD, RAINFALL AND RIVER SITUATION SUMMARY (as on September 14, 2007)

Flood Outlook

- The mighty Brahmaputra-Jamuna has started falling at Noonkhawa, Chilmari & Bahadurabad and the river is expected to record fall at Serajganj and Aricha from evening today and the falling trend will continue in the next 24-96hrs.

- Indian meteorological department forecast: A low pressure area has formed over north-west Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal areas of West Bengal & north Orissa. Under its influence, fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is likely to occur over north Orissa (will not affect Bangladesh flood) and West Bengal & Sikkim (little effect) during next 3 days.

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B'desh flood victims say hopes fading, hunger spreads

Fri Sep 14, 2007 4:13pm IST

By Anis Ahmed

DHAKA (Reuters) - Mother of three Salma Begum and her husband built a hut after floods in July washed away their home in northern Bangladesh.

Within weeks, the family was homeless again, joining millions of others affected by a second wave of monsoon flooding that has swept away homes, crops, roads and bridges across much of the country's north and northeast.

Many victims face hunger, have no jobs or income because their crops have been ruined or businesses disrupted.

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Govt contributes further $3.6m for Asian flood relief

Posted Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:19pm AEST

The Federal Government has announced another $3.6 million in emergency relief funding for southern Asian communities affected by the floods in August of this year.

The Government says the funding will pay for emergency medicines, water purifying tablets and the provision of mobile health facilities and temporary shelters in Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.

It brings Australia's total contribution to flood-affected communities to $8.3 million.

S Asia flood devastation worsens

Hundreds of thousands are displaced by the floods in Assam

The number of people made homeless by flooding in north-east India and Bangladesh has risen to some 1.5 million, officials say.

India's Assam state is suffering its third wave of floods this year, caused by heavy rains over the past four days.

The army has evacuated 800,000 people as the Brahmaputra rive and its tributaries flow at danger levels.

Downstream in Bangladesh, officials say half a million people are affected and many have been moved to safer places.

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New floods hit Bangladesh

DHAKA (AFP) — More than 100,000 Bangladeshis have been displaced or marooned, some for the second time in as many months, after heavy rains brought fresh floods to the country, officials said Sunday.

Thousands of villages in the north of the delta nation were inundated at the weekend, many of them after being hit by the devastating floods of late July and early August, officials said.

In Sirajganj district, among the worst hit by the first spell of flooding, a surge of water from rivers overflowing their banks displaced or marooned tens of thousands, district administrator Ibrahim Khalil said.

"Some 7,000 people have already taken shelter at government relief centres. It's just weeks since many of them returned home. They have planted paddy (rice) afresh in the land only to see flood water submerging them again," he said.

The toll since the start of monsoon rains in June stands at 959, including deaths from water-borne sickness, snake bites and landslides as well as drowning.

At least 10.5 million people have been displaced or marooned by the floods.

The country's flood centre said two major Himalayan rivers that empty into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh -- the Brahamputra and the Ganges -- had risen alarmingly in tandem.

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Flash floods in Bangladesh leave 5 dead, hundreds stranded

The Associated Press

Published: September 9, 2007

DHAKA, Bangladesh: Flash floods triggered by torrential rains and swelling rivers inundated parts of Bangladesh over the weekend, leaving at least five people dead and hundreds stranded, emergency officials said Sunday.

Some areas are still reeling from the affects of a recent monsoon deluge that submerged most of the delta nation for two months — from June to August — leaving more than 500 dead and thousands without homes, the Disaster Management Ministry said.

Many flood victims had just started rebuilding their homes and replanting their fields, witnesses said.

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India - Bangladesh: Equipping Villages for Disaster

By Kai T. Hill and Caroline Brennan

Each year, India's monsoon rainy season causes massive devastation, resulting in the loss of homes, cattle, commerce and — above all — human life.

As the torrential rains pound from overhead, rivers and dams overflow their banks and communities, leaving entire villages marooned and residents desperately wading through murky water to find food and shelter for their families. Most often, the brunt of the flooding falls on poor and marginalized communities. These are just the people who lack the influence and money to recover from natural disasters, even anticipated monsoon rains.

In hopes of lessening the burden of such emergencies, over the last several years CRS has been implementing disaster-preparedness programs in areas prone to these crises. Using a variety of techniques, these programs help communities bolster their resources, establish life-saving contingency plans and improve the way they communicate during a crisis. "CRS and our partners focus on building community resilience to various shocks and risks by strengthening positive coping mechanisms in the community," says Kasturi Sengupta, CRS Orissa state representative. "This collective preparedness and response helps them undertake the first response without support from external agencies."

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Report sought on flood damage to rice crop
By Sher Baz Khan
ISLAMABAD, Sept 2: The federal agriculture ministry has asked food departments in Sindh and Balochistan to immediately send area-wise details of damages caused by recent floods to the rice crop in the two provinces.

Official sources told Dawn on Sunday that the floods were feared to have curtailed rice production by more than 200,000 tons. The federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal), in collaboration with the provincial food departments, has already conducted an initial survey which has revealed some disturbing figures severe damages to more than 271,000 acres of rice paddies only in Sindh.

Initial estimates suggest that about 20-25 per cent of the crop in Sindh has been damaged.

The damage in Balochistan can be substantial as well, a source in Minfal said.

It now seems unlikely that the target of producing 5.7 million tons of rice this year will be achieved.

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Flood Exposure and Child Health in Bangladesh
Alison M. Buttenheim, UCLA

ABSTRACT:

In the summer of 1998, Bangladesh was inundated by significant flooding that covered two-thirds of the country and affected more than 30 million people. Although annual flooding is normal and expected in Bangladesh, the 1998 floods caused extraordinary devastation and were considered a “century” flood. Homestead flooding, crop loss, and infrastructure damage compromised household food security and increased disease prevalence in a population with already high rates of poverty and malnutrition.

Unfortunately, this type of scenario has become increasingly common around the world: a significant crisis—whether environmental, economic, or political—devastates a large population of densely-settled households who are already trapped in chronic poverty. How do households anticipate and respond to such crises in the context of ongoing livelihood struggles? Do shocks affect investments in human capital? More specifically, what happens to children in the wake of such shocks? In this paper I use longitudinal data from the post-flood period in rural Bangladesh to examine how children’s human capital, as measured by nutritional status, responds to severe flooding and its aftermath. I emphasize the importance of analyzing these responses in a dynamic context, linking exposure to shocks and nutritional outcomes to longer-term measures of household vulnerability and resilience.

I pose two related research questions. First, did flood exposure in 1998 cause marginal growth faltering in children? To isolate the effects of the flood and address the endogeneity of flood exposure, I use a difference-in-difference estimator and village fixed effects. I also exploit the fact that younger children are more vulnerable than older children to nutrition shocks. I next ask whether the effects of flooding on child growth faltering were mediated by household resources, hypothesizing that households with lower levels of pre-flood resources are less able to protect children from nutrition shocks.

These analysis help to answer several important policy questions related to crisis and recovery in vulnerable populations. The results reveal the extent to which children were nutritionally compromised by the flood, and which children fared worst. The analyses also contribute specifically to the design and implementation of livelihood interventions, and relief and recovery efforts. Can households use physical, financial and human capital to protect children’s nutritional status from significant shocks to income and food security? If so, is it more effective to focus on long-term asset-building strategies in vulnerable populations, or to facilitate asset recovery post-shock through access to credit and other forms of relief? Given the increasing exposure to shocks and the quantity of resources allocated post-disaster to relief and recovery, these questions are not trivial.

SUGGESTED CITATION:
Alison M. Buttenheim, "Flood Exposure and Child Health in Bangladesh" (November 1, 2006). California Center for Population Research. On-Line Working Paper Series. Paper CCPR-022-06.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/ccpr/olwp/CCPR-022-06

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Post-flood agriculture rehabilitation

Sense of immediacy and realism is called for

The news relating to post-flood rehabilitation that we have from ten northern districts of the country does not seem promising. That is because of the meagre allocation that has been made for compensatory agricultural recovery in these districts. An unbelievably low figure of Tk. 672 per hectare has reportedly been earmarked as the cost toward a cultivation of Aman crops.

In very real terms, the costs involved per hectare amount to no less than Tk. 5,600 on average. Even that figure is disputed by farmers (and they should know, intricately involved with agriculture as they are), who believe that because of rising costs of agricultural inputs post-flood rehabilitation measures on a hectare of Aman crops will be anywhere between Tk.13,000 and Tk.15,000. In the circumstances, the authorities should be reconsidering the overall policy of allocation for post-flood rehabilitation throughout the country. As we note, the floods have not yet gone away and indeed there are signs of their returning in certain areas. Chandpur and Nilphamari are in the grip of fresh new floods. In the ten northern districts we speak of, no fewer than 300,000 farmers have been left fully impoverished by the waters. That figure rises when one brings into the calculation the number of those affected elsewhere.

A sense of immediacy as well as realism must come into this entire issue of post-flood rehabilitation. One must remember that in large areas of Bangladesh, the floods have left much of the seedbed ruined. In such a condition, the matter of an availability of seeds, seedlings and fertilisers for farmers has become an imperative. The good news is that a number of public sector banks have spoken of the plans they have on the anvil regarding a provision of loans to affected farmers in order to enable them to begin afresh. Such agricultural loans on soft terms need to be ensured at the earliest. Additionally, a well-ordered distribution of seeds, seedlings, fertilisers and all other inputs necessary to enable farmers to recoup their losses is essential. In this connection, coordination among the ministries of agriculture, finance and disaster management is of the essence.

Flood toll shoots up to 702 in Bangladesh

www.chinaview.cn 2007-08-26 19:59:58

DHAKA, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from flood-related incidents in Bangladesh rose to 702 by Sunday morning, private news agency UNB reported.

Meanwhile, the flood situation has improved greatly with all but two rivers flowing below their danger marks and floodwater receding from most affected areas. However, a latest spell of flooding hit western Raj shahi area amid rain and onrush of water from upstream of the Padma river, one of the country's three major rivers.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Center in its bulletin Sunday said the Padma was still flowing above danger level at several points.

Some 2.3 million people of 39 out of the country's districts have been affected by the floods, which started rolling in on July30 and engulfed most part of the country.

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Toll rises in South Asia floods

Reuters
Sunday, August 26, 2007; 6:39 AM

PATNA, India (Reuters) - Flood victims in eastern India were eating raw wheat flour to survive as devastating monsoon flooding in South Asia continued to spread misery among millions.

Nearly 2,000 people have been killed by snake bites, drowning, diarrhea and in house collapses since July when swollen rivers burst their banks, inundating huge areas in eastern India and Bangladesh.

"My family has been chewing flour soaked in water to survive as we do not have access to firewood to make rotis (bread)," said Genu Sada, 90, in Begusarai district on Sunday.

In neighboring West Bengal state, hundreds of people have turned trucks stranded on highways into makeshift homes. Flood waters have swamped vast areas, making elevated roads points of refuge.

"We are sleeping and eating inside the trucks as there is water everywhere and we have nowhere to go," Anukul Samanta, a villager in West Midnapore district, said.

In the eastern state of Orissa, at least four villagers have died from water-borne diseases since Saturday, pushing the overall toll to 43 in the state since floods began earlier this month.

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Bangladesh relaxes curfew despite sporadic violence

Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:53PM IST

By Nizam Ahmed

DHAKA (Reuters) - Life returned to normal in Dhaka on Saturday after authorities relaxed a curfew imposed on Bangladesh's capital following university student clashes with the military this week.

"The curfew will remain relaxed from 6 a.m. (0000 GMT) to 11 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Saturday," a Home Ministry statement said.

The curfew, which shut down public transport, schools, banks, clinics and pharmacies, was imposed in Dhaka and five other cities on Wednesday after student-led protests against the presence of troops on the Dhaka University campus turned violent and spread across the country.

One man was killed and nearly 300 were injured in clashes with security forces in Dhaka and other cities before the curfew was declared.

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Needs still great as floods continue in South Asia

23 Aug 2007 10:23:44 GMT

Source: Caritas Internationalis

Vatican City, 23 August 2007 – More than half of Bangladesh and parts of India are still under water after a month of heavy monsoon flooding. Caritas fears the situation will worsen as heavy rains continue to fall across much of South Asia."There are still so many families who are totally helpless, living on the streets or under trees or in other people's houses," said Denis Baskey, regional director of Caritas Rajshahi in Bangladesh. "They need food, water, medicines. It is quite desperate."

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