coastal flooding

• flood risk in bangladesh(physical)

  o   Three major rivers all flow through Bangladesh and enter Indian ocean through the Bay of Bengal

  o   Many physical features which increase its vulnerability to coastal flooding:

  o   50% of country at an elevation of 10m above sea level or less, around 20 million people live in areas less than 1m above sea level+on coast near large delta 

  o   Tropical cyclones regularly cause storm surges and monsoon rains increase amount of floodwater 
• flood risk in Bangladesh- human

  • Fertile farmland in short supply as population grows, causing some farmers to clear areas of mangroves forests on the delta and drain it to increase farmland
  • delta used to be site of deposition now is a site of erosion- making it vulnerable to flooding from the rising sea level
• uk flooding- developed country- losses

  Economic:

  -average damages in the uk from coastal flooding is £120 million a year 
• bangladesh flooding- developing country- 2007 hit with cyclone

  Economic:

  -total economic losses estimated 2.31 billion us dollars

  -roads, bridges, infrastructure suffered damage  
• developed countries

  • Developed countries tend to face higher economic losses because the homes, businesses and infrastructure are of higher value, due to the quality of materials and technology used
• developing countries

  • losses, tend to be of a greater magnitude in terms of deaths, injuries, and loss of buildings, due to lower wealth, this leads to:
  • Less preparation and planning
  • Emergency services are not as well trained
  • A lack of public education regarding what to do to protect themselves and their homes
  • poor building quality