Disaster Management System in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh and its people have been one of the worst victims of natural disasters from time immemorial. Conversely, facing and learning to live with natural disasters are equally an ancient preoccupation of Bangladeshi people. Disaster management in independent Bangladesh has undergone a complex process of development. While it received its impetus from concrete challenges faced at home, it also received inputs from developments, institutions and policies outside Bangladesh. In the process, Bangladesh has developed a workable system of disaster management that includes a set of mechanisms and processes, as well as a whole range of ways and means for the management of disasters. The article probes into the disaster management system in Bangladesh. In doing so, it begins with an overview of disasters in Bangladesh that helps explain the context of disaster management. The article studies the disaster management system in Bangladesh with a focus on concepts and theories, legal framework and institutional structure. On the basis of the above, an attempt is made to project an outlook for the future. Disaster and disaster management transcend and intersect national boundaries and geographical regions. Therefore, prevailing system of disaster management in Bangladesh could be of considerable importance to others involved in the same venture elsewhere in the world.