case study = Bangladesh - Cyclone Aila

    Cards (9)

    • started - 25 may 2009
    • compared to the USA storm sandy the wind wasn't very strong but there was a lot of flooding
    • cause for tropical storm :
      • wind had to be faster than 120km/h
      • had to be 10 degrees either side of the equator
      • cyclones are powered by warm water, water had to be 26.5 degrees
      • low pressure on sea - storm surges happen when the sea rises
      • storm Aila was 96 milibars and winds were going 100mph but because the storm hit the land there was a lot of flooding
    • short term impacts
      SOCIAL :
      • 750k people homes lost - there houses were made of mud not brick so they didn't have a chance of standing against the cyclone
      • 1 mil people didn't have drinking water
      ECONOMIC :
      • no cattle or places to clean, so no income
      • fishing boats destroyed
      ENVIRONMENTAL :
      • 100k fish and animals dead
    • long term impacts
      SOCIAL :
      • more disease spread
      • all winter clothes gone - can't afford to buy new ones
      • need half a year's salary to replace all cooking utensils lost
      • people are still living in homeless shelters 1 year later the cyclone hit
      • 200 children have to sit in one classroom (these kids can't get the time back - that's why its a long term impact)
      • schools ar flooded twice a day
      ECONOMIC :
      • salt water contamination - crops can't grow and no washing/cleaning water
      • embankments burst open, even after a year of them breaking they haven't been fixed
    • physical features of Bangladesh making it vulnerable to the cyclone
      80% of the country is less than 1m below sea level, vulnerable to storm surges
    • human features of Bangladesh making it vulnerable to the cyclone
      the country relies on agriculture, any saltwater pollution of land can have a long-term impact on a lot of people's health and income
    • How did Bangladesh RESPOND to the cyclone
      • Oxfam and Christian aid provided blankets, food and emergency medicine (short-term)
      • evacuated to shelters - there were only 75 shelters which were filled up quickly (short-term)
      • government struggled to respond in a coordinated manner
      • Oxfam provided education courses on sanitation (long-term)
      • 3km embankments were built a year later to protect farmland (long-term)
      • further 3500 shelters have been built
    • How did Bangladesh prepare and predict for the cyclone
      • Their met service hand-drew graphs from Nepal and India
      • Japan provides satellite images every 30 minutes
      • Country only had 1 days notice to evacuate towards safety