Coping with flood : the experience of the people of Dhaka during the 1998 flood disaster.

Includes bibliographical references

Paper from International Conference on Disaster Management Cooperative Networking in South Asia, 28th to 30th November 1999, New Delhi

This paper presents the results of a study that was undertaken to investigate the problems faced by the people of Dhaka during the 1998 flood disaster and the way they coped with these problems. It was found that people of different income groups in the city were affected by the flood. The low-income people, however, suffered more heavily than the middle or upper income people. The flood caused heavy damage to housing, health, job and business income. Majority of the people tried to cope with these damages with their own resources. Poorer sections of the people, however, had to borrow money or sell assets for survival. As regards the means to overcome the problems of flood, it is emphasised that special attention should be paid to non-structural measures since structural measures in the form of embankments, hydraulic structures and river closures have not been able to improve the situation sgnificantly. At the same time, a long lasting solution to the problems of flood in South Asia can not be reached without fruitful co-operation among the countries of this region. Immediate steps, therefore, should be taken in this respect