Flood Control Projects in Bangladesh: Reasons for Failure and Recommendations for Improvement (original) (raw)
Related papers
Water is Bangladesh's blessing and a curse. For nearly half the year, the monsoon rains cause the country's four major rivers, the Jamuna, Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna, and their tributaries to swell. Devastating floods are often the consequence. During the rest of the year, the dry season brings almost no rainfall, and droughts threaten the livelihoods of people and the health of the natural environment. Frequent and widespread flooding is a major problem in Bangladesh, which is a Rangpur, Bogra, Shirajganj, Rajbari Region. The problem is caused mainly by the Jamuna River and sudden coming floodwater from India through Brahmaputra whose erratic riverbank erosion has been leading to the general widening of channels and large-scale instability of riverbanks. Both the flooding and erosion in the river valley can be tackled only through an adaptive response that includes the use of structural protection systems such as making water dams and strong river embankment. A practicability study in this paper was led for riverbank protection works and an increasing number of dams are also discussed.
Impact of costal embankment on the flash flood in Bangladesh: a case study
Applied Geography, 2004
Coastal areas of Bangladesh frequently experience tropical cyclones and associated tidal bore. In order to prevent cyclonic or storm-surge flooding and to increase crop production by preventing intrusion of saline ocean water, many coastal embankment projects were initiated in the 1960s by the Bangladesh government. After construction of these embankments, particularly their reconstruction in 1991 has increased the frequency of flash floods in coastal areas. The objective of this study is to examine to what extent the reconstruction of embankment is responsible for the increased severity of flash flooding at the Chokoria thana of the Cox's Bazar district, Bangladesh. Using hydrological data and perception of the respondents on the increased flooding through the rapid rural appraisal (RRA) method, it was found that severity of the flood increased after the reconstruction of embankments in 1991. Other causes of increased flooding is also explored. #
An Analytical Study of Flood Management in Bangladesh
Bangladesh along with the state of West Bengal in India is situated in the lowest area of the Hindu Kush -Himalayan Region (HKH) and is famous as one of the highest flood prone countries in the world. Flood to some extent is an annual expected and well-come event for many reasons for this country. But extreme flood inundates more than half of the country's landmass causing immense suffering to the human life, damages properties and economy. Aim of the flood management in Bangladesh is to minimize damages or to avoid disastrous situation. Though the country is in the eastern part of the lowest ridge of HKH but geography and location of the country make hydrology of Bangladesh very diverse, complex and unique. The North-Eastern part of the country has the river networks with upper hilly catchments having one of the world's highest rainfall intensity and causes frequent flash floods. In the North-Western part rainfall intensity is lower, higher altitude and mighty perennial river network causes river flood. The South-Eastern part has moderate rainfall intensity, hilly as well as coastal plain land, flashy and tidal river network causes both the storm surge and flash flood. The South Western region has also moderate rainfall, coastal plain land and tidal rivers cause storm surge due to cyclone. Principles of flood management in the country based on these different types of floods and geographical conditions either by non-structural or structural measures. As a non-structural measure for flood loss minimization, flood forecasting and warning services has been emphasized. Structural measures began in late 60's by implementing number of flood control projects.
Towards sustainable flood mitigation strategies: A case study of Bangladesh
Disaster, Risk and Vulnerability Conference 2011 (Volume 1 Number 1), 2011
This paper outlines a part of a research and design project based on work undertaken for the B.Arch. at the Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology in 2008. This study intended to ease the lifestyle & livelihood of rural dwellers beside the river bank areas in respond to natural hazards like floods. Floods in the deltaic valley of Bangladesh is not merely an environmental issue, they play with the very fate of the nation, not to speak havoc they wreak on the economy of these inhabitants besides the bank side areas. Again this climatologic phenomenon not only poses enormous threats to the locality but also moderate floods contribute to the fertility of the land. Flood hazards of bank side areas of rivers are difficult to control through structural measures; Flood proofing through assistance to self help measures to reduce the damage to property and stress are largely accepted preventive efforts that these people have practiced. This paper focuses on formulating future action plans and some immediate incentives to improve the physical environment that are better suited to the people of river bank areas with frequently changing context. To develop a self-sustain community and sustainable mitigation strategies in response to observed or expected changes in climatic stimuli beside the riverbank areas, study goes through the geo-morphological & hydrological analysis and vulnerability assessments in this area. Finally goal is to provide zoning guidelines & few planning solutions along with modified house building techniques through flood level predictions, which would help the peasants at the time of emergency & could be intergrated into official flood management measure.
PERFORMANCE OF FLOOD CONTROL WORKS AROUND DHAKA CITY DURING MAJOR FLOODS IN BANGLADESH
Dhaka city has been protected by flood protective embankments, flood walls and raised roads along with flood controlling regulators, sluices, and both temporary and permanent pump houses. This study describes the performance of various flood control works around Dhaka city and tries to find out the causes of external and internal flooding of protected Dhaka during major floods in the recent past. It has been found that flood embankment and raised road around the city functioned quite well during all floods except the1998 flood. Though the performances of three permanent pump stations were found satisfactory, temporary pumps were found poor performing. However, the flood control measures of the city has come under challenge by recent issues such as gradual increase of urban encroachments inside retention pond, fill up of low lying areas, increase of social conflicts around flood control structures etc.
Climate Stricken Challenges of Flood Mitigation in Bangladesh B A N G L A D E S H Born in 1971
Climate Stricken;Challenges of Flood mitigation in Bangladesh., 2020
Abstract: Bangladesh is a riverine country and one of the most flood-prone countries in the world with the greatest risk of being affected by climate change and natural disasters like Flood, Cyclone, Landslide and Lightening. Some 30 to 35% of the total land surface of the country is flooded every year and people use multiple strategies to live with flooding events and associated riverbank erosion. They relocate, evacuate their homes temporarily, change cropping patterns, and supplement their income from migrating household members. The frequency and intensity of natural hazard are increasing day by day parallel to the climate change. The image of Bangladesh as a country that is adapting well stems from its long history of living with floods. Every year the country has been losing a large part of GDP as an economic loss. Regular floods are part of people’s lives, recurring with varying magnitudes and frequencies to which people have adapted. Bangladesh experiences four different types of floods: flash floods, riverine floods, rain floods and storm-surge floods. Floods and cyclone are some of the most destructive hydro meteorological phenomena in terms of their impacts on humans, infrastructure, and economic sectors and also ecosystems in Bangladesh. The Flood Forecasting and Early Warning system is also equipped with experienced and trained personnel. FFWC is capable of issuing forecasts 30 to 72 hours in advance using real time data. In Bangladesh, flood forecasting and warning is conducted with the aid of a hydrological and hydrodynamic mathematical model (MIKE11-GIS) and the NOAA–AVHRR satellite imagery and processing system. The geo-technical work involved in upgrading the embankments to mitigate the flood situation. Soil are used to increase the height and width of the embankments, locally produced concrete blocks or geo-tubes are offer slope reinforcement. In addition to the geo-technical work, sluice gates associated with the existing embankments and their respective drainage channels are being updated. This is now agricultural requirements for the use of the sluice gate," The new sluice gates incorporated into the embankments and sliding gates that is enabling the sluices to function in both ways so that they can be used as part of local water management operations. The flood problem in Bangladesh is extremely complex. The country is an active delta; it has numerous networks of rivers, canals and coast creeks with extensive flood plains through which surface water of about 1.7 million sq-km drains annually. Although the livelihood of the people in Bangladesh is well adapted to normal monsoon flood, the damages due to inundation, riverbank erosion or breach of embankment, etc. still occur in almost every monsoon. The devastating floods often have disastrous consequences: major damage to infrastructure, great loss of property, crops, cattle, poultry etc. With every major flood in Bangladesh, food security and poverty situation adversely affected. Keywords: Water Resource Management, Geo-Technology, Adaptation, Drainage, Monsoon, Mitigation strategy. Early warning.
Flood Management in the Flood Plain of Bangladesh
Bangladesh along with the state of West Bengal in India is situated in the lowest area of the Hindu Kush -Himalayan Region (HKH) and is famous as one of the highest flood prone countries in the world. Flood to some extent is an annual expected and well-come event for many reasons for this country. But extreme flood inundates more than half of the country's landmass causing immense suffering to the human life, damages properties and economy. Aim of the flood management in Bangladesh is to minimize damages or to avoid disastrous situation. Though the country is in the eastern part of the lowest ridge of HKH but geography and location of the country make hydrology of Bangladesh very diverse, complex and unique. The North-Eastern part of the country has the river networks with upper hilly catchments having one of the world's highest rainfall intensity and causes frequent flash floods. In the North-Western part rainfall intensity is lower, higher altitude and mighty perennial river network causes river flood. The South-Eastern part has moderate rainfall intensity, hilly as well as coastal plain land, flashy and tidal river network causes both the storm surge and flash flood. The South Western region has also moderate rainfall, coastal plain land and tidal rivers cause storm surge due to cyclone. Principles of flood management in the country based on these different types of floods and geographical conditions either by non-structural or structural measures. As a non-structural measure for flood loss minimization, flood forecasting and warning services has been emphasized. Structural measures began in late 60's by implementing number of flood control projects.
Construction of earthen embankments for flood control, irrigation and drainage have been the history of Bangladesh but these can't solve the flood problem, effectively and permanently because of their ease of vulnerability with rain splash and flow of flood water. Construction of earthen flood control embankments is an established practice in Bangladesh for protecting people's lives and homes, agriculture and infrastructures. The paper reports the options for multipurpose use of embankments in Bangladesh based on the field visits to embankments site, collected data and information on failure and on-service embankments during field visits, necessary data related to embankments construction practice obtained from available publications and newspaper information reported in the year 2007. It studies the basic features and characteristics of floods and flood hazards, and reviews the design & construction practices followed. Several cases of successful and unsuccessful river and ...