Water - Bangladesh Floods 2007

Question 1

Which human factors contributed the the floods?

Answer 1

Rapid urbanisation
Himalayan deforestation
Shite GDP
Couldn’t fund flood defences

Question 2

What were the main physical causes of the floods?

Answer 2

Monsoon climate
Low lying nation
3 large river deltas
Soils became completely saturated

Question 3

What were the social impacts of the floods?

Answer 3

25m homeless
2000+ deaths
10.5m displaced/marooned
100,000 caught water borne diseases

Question 3

How did monsoon season contribute to the floods?

Answer 3

Very sudden
Followed dry summer
80% of rain in 4 months

Question 4

What were the economic impacts of the floods?

Answer 4

550,000 hectares unplantable
Estimated $1b in damages
Local + national debt increased

Question 5

What were the environmental impacts of the floods?

Answer 5

2.2m acres cropland damaged
Deposition polluted water supplies
10,000km roads destroyed

Question 6

What were the short term management strategies employed?

Answer 6

$150m aid
NGO’s gave emergency aid
UN activated disaster management team

Question 7

Which long term management strategies were employed?

Answer 7

Local self help schemes
World Bank gave 5 year loan
Move to small scale sustainable management