2B.8: Bangladesh

• why is Bangladesh vulnerable to coastal flooding?

  human:

  • most densely populated country 170 million in 2015

  physical:

  • 46% of population lives less than 10m above sea level
  • lies on the floodplains of 3 major rivers: Brahmaputra, Ganges, Meghna
• why does Bangladesh flood every year?

  monsoon rains (esp in March to May) and high tides in the Bay of Bengal --> the 3 major rivers and 54 smaller rivers empty into the Bay

  these produce violent storms with southerly winds of 160km/hr --> bringing 6m high waves from the Bay of Bengal to coastal swamp regions --> increasing flood risk