Potential of Community Volunteers in Flood Early Warning Dissemination: A Case Study of Bangladesh.

Murtuza Al-Mueed,Emmanuel Harera,Md Rafique Ahasan Chawdhery,Abdulmajeed M Mobrad,Ahmed M Al-Wathinani,Saqer M Althunayyan,Riyadh A Alhazmi

doi:10.3390/ijerph182413010

Abstract

Flood early warning (FEW) is a vital component of disaster risk management and is particularly important for saving lives, developing a sustainable agro-based economy, economic stability, and the overall development of the people of Bangladesh as well as others. This study was conducted in a northern, flood-prone area of Bangladesh to investigate the potential of incorporating volunteers of the community to the Union Councils (UCs) to disseminate FEW alongside the top-down approach. Several studies have found that despite having a sophisticated flood forecasting technology, local communities are not reaping the benefits of it, as the existing dissemination system is inaccessible to most local people. Since risk communication takes place in a social context, this study investigated and thereby proposed that volunteerism, as a form of social capital or communal virtue, can potentially assist the community-based disaster management (CBDM) institutions in enhancing their capacity to reach the maximum population at times of flood risk. Therefore, it was confirmed that the trained volunteers need to be integrated into and endorsed by the national policy. In addition, this study also provides a number of recommendations connecting literature with policy documents of Bangladesh.

Highlights

Flooding is a major natural disaster in Bangladesh, considering the number of people affected as well as the frequency of occurrence
Dissemination of flood risk information is an important part of a flood forecasting and early warning system (FFEWS) [1]
The government of Bangladesh strengthened the Community-Based Disaster Management (CBDM) approach based on the Union Councils (UCs), the lowest tier of local government institutions in the country

Summary

Introduction

Flooding is a major natural disaster in Bangladesh, considering the number of people affected as well as the frequency of occurrence. Dissemination of flood risk information is an important part of a flood forecasting and early warning system (FFEWS) [1]. The government of Bangladesh strengthened the Community-Based Disaster Management (CBDM) approach based on the Union Councils (UCs), the lowest tier of local government institutions in the country. It was realized that further improvement in the process of disseminating flood information was needed to reach those at immediate flood risk [2].The primary goal of a Flood Early. People need to know the risk factors, and they should understand the warning to cope with the coming flood [5].

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Conclusion