7. Freshwater floods occur when a watershed receives so much water that it cannot drain into the soil quickly enough to take the water away..
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9. The deltas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers in South Asia flood on a seasonal basis. The flooding keeps the soil fertile because the rivers deposit silt which forms fertile soil each year. Partly because of the flooding, it is one of the most densely populated areas of the world (900 people per km 2 ). Millions of people in Nepal, Northern India and Bangladesh depend on the rivers and fertile soils for their livelihoods. Tear Fund UK
10. Flooding in Bangladesh Where does the flooding occur? Identify specific regions that are worst hit.
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12. 80% of Bangladesh is located on the delta. The low level of the delta land means that large areas are prone to flooding. 75% of Bangladesh is at or below just 10 metres in height.
13. Total rainfall within the Brahmaputra, Ganges – Meghna catchment is very high and very seasonal. 75% of annual rainfall occurs in the monsoon between June and September. Annual rainfall total in Dhaka is almost 2000mm Tropical cyclones from Bay of Bengal bring heavy rain and storm waves in late summer
14. Bangladesh also suffers regularly from substantial flooding melting snows from the Himalayas. Source: World Infozone.com
21. 2004 Floods in Bangladesh floods occurred July to Sept July 2004 - 40% Dhaka was under water 60% of country was flooded 600 reporte deaths 20 million homeless 100,000 in Dhaka suffered from diarrhoea as floodlwaters left mud and sewage 35cm of rain fell in 1 day on 13 th Sept Death toll rose to 750 Airport, roads and railways flooded Bridges destroyed $7billion damage Rice crop destroyed along with food supplies – vegetables Cash crops – jute and sugar Textbook page 115
26. How have decision makers respond to the flooding? The Flood Action Plan (FAP) was set up in 1990 supported by several wealthy countries and the World Bank. Its aim was to reduce the impact of the floods that occurred annually in Bangladesh. The FAP’s objectives were to set up regional planning groups to study and monitor local river processes, followed by hard engineering aproaches. This involved the construction of 3,500km of coastal and river embankments to protect the land and to protect from storm surges brought by cyclones. The project included building seven large dams partly to stop water from reaching the land and to provide up to 15 floodwater storage basins. Millions of dollars of aid were poured into the engineering projects but the scheme remains unfinished due to corruption and inadequate funding. As a result the FAP is not considered to have been a complete success. Over 3 million people have been killed by coastal flooding in the last 30 years. The first findings of the FAP in 1995 stated that, while the flood protection scheme was economically desirable for urban areas, it was not a good idea in rural areas, which are dependent upon fishing and farming .
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29. Flooding in Bangladesh Your task: Imagine you are working as a volunteer for an aid agency such as Water Aid in Bangladesh during the floods of 2004. Write a letter home describing the situation in the floods in Bangladesh, its effects and responses to it. Try to make your account as real as possible so that the reader can imagine the experience. Include photo images, witness accounts and describe your own thoughts and feelings.
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