Disaster risk reduction in Bangladesh: A comparison of three major floods for assessing progress towards resilience

Abstract

The modern disaster management approach is based on the disaster management cycle comprising four distinct components: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, and focuses on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and resilience. As a disaster-prone country, Bangladesh needed to evolve its policies to develop a strong disaster management system that builds resilience at the community level and ensures overall DRR. Frequent floods and policy failures drove changes, so analysis is needed to see if the policy shifts are productive and results-oriented. This study shows Bangladesh’s shift to DRR by comparing human casualties and infrastructure/financial damage in the 1988, 2004, and 2022 floods. It analyzes Bangladesh’s DRR efficiency over 34 years and the three major floods. Furthermore, it highlights the flood impacts to identify gaps and areas for improvement in building resilience. The study reveals that the current DRR approach in Bangladesh is adequate and well aligned with the vision of “Winning resilience together against all odds.” The significant transition from a predominantly relief and recovery approach to an integrated, “people-centered” flood management strategy made the disaster management framework robust and capable of handling future disasters which is the prerequisite to reducing the risk, vulnerability and impact of disasters. Areas of improvement include coordinated efforts between government and non-government organizations and agencies, empowerment of local authorities, community-based capacity building, and strict monitoring and accountability of mismanagements, among others. Bangladesh has well-designed DRR strategies and plans in place. It must invest in DRR and implement a “Whole-of-Society” approach to build a resilient, sustainable nation.