Status of Natural and Man-made hazards in Bangladesh from

2000-2020

Submitted To,
Md. Mostafizur Rahman, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Environmental Sciences
Jahangirnagar University

Submitted by,
Class Roll: 426
Reg No: 44182
Session: 2016-17
Introduction:

According to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), a hazard
is a natural process or phenomenon that may pose negative impacts on the economy, society, and
ecology, including both natural factors and human factors that are associated with the natural ones.
Hazards are the origins of disasters. Hazards are detrimental to the development of human beings
and hinder the sustainability of the world .

Historical statistics would suggest that Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the
world, with great negative consequences being associated with various natural and human-induced
hazards.

Hazards can be classified into two types broadly by the origin. They are Natural and Man-made
hazards.

Types of natural hazards Bangladesh faced last 20 years are :

1. Cyclone
2. Flood
3. Drought
4. Landslide
5. Earthquake
6. Thunderstorms & Lightning

Man made hazards in Bangladesh

1. Oil Spillage in Sundarban

2. Industrial hazards
3. Bahaddahat flyover collapse

Natural Hazrads

Cyclones :

Cyclone a tropical storm or atmospheric turbulence involving circular motion of winds, occurs in
Bangladesh as a natural hazard. The tropics can be regarded as the region lying between 30'N
latitude and 30'S latitude. All the tropical seas of the earth with the exception of the south Atlantic
and southeast Pacific give birth to deadly atmospheric phenomena known as tropical cyclones. On
an average, 80 tropical cyclones are formed every year all over the globe. Bangladesh is one of the
countries that are most effected by tropical storms and cyclones. Geographical postion of
Bangladesh is such a kind that is effected by tropical cyclone and storms. Some chronological list of
cyclonic event in Bangladesh from 2000-2020 is below.

Table : Chronology of major cyclonic events in Bangladesh

Date Name of the cyclone Impact

14–15 May 2007 Cyclone Akash struck about 115 km south of Chittagong with
wind speeds up to 120 km/hour. 14 people
were killed and damages amounted to US$982
 million.

15 November 2007 Cyclone Sidr with wind speeds up to 260 km/hour, made
landfall on southern Bangladesh, causing over
3,500 deaths and severe damage.

26–27 October 2008 Cyclone Rashmi made landfall on the Bangladesh coast late on
26 October with wind speeds up to
85 km/hour, 15 people were killed and
thousands of homes were also damaged.

19–21 April 2009 Cyclone Bijli attacked weakly in Bangladesh and not so
severe damages were recorded except some
houses and crop fields losses.

27–29 May 2009 Cyclone Aila A severe Cyclone Aila attacked offshore 15
districts of south-western part of Bangladesh
with wind speeds up to 120 km/hour; about
150 persons killed, 2 lac houses and 3 lac acres
of cultivated land and crops losses.

16–17 May 2013 Cyclone Viyaru formerly known as Cyclonic Storm Mahasen,
hit near Chittagong with wind speeds up to 85
km/hour. 17 people died, and nearly 1.3
million were affected across the country.
Losses to crops exceeded US$35.3 million.

29 July 2015 Cyclone Komen with wind speeds up to 75 km/hour, Komen

made landfall near Chittagong. About 510,000
houses in the country were damaged or
destroyed, and many residents lost their source
of income as 667,221 acres (270,000 ha) of
crop fields were damaged. The floods killed
132 people, of which at least 39 were directly
related to Komen.

21 May 2016 Cyclone Roanu made landfall near Chittagong killing 26

people in Bangladesh. It has wind speeds up to
100 km/hour. Around 40,000 homesteads and
business houses were damaged. Food storage,
seasonal crops were damaged. Livestock,
including fish and shrimp firms were swept
away.

20 August 2016 Tropical Storm Dianmu The remnants of Tropical Storm Dianmu
affected Bangladesh, no damage or death were
reported.

29–31 May 2017 Cyclone Morao with wind speeds up to 110 km/hour, made
landfall near Chittagong. A total of 500,000
people managed to move out of coastal areas
before the storm made landfall on 31 May. A
 multitude of tropical cyclone warnings and
watches were issued for much of southern
Bangladesh and the districts of Northeast
India. Strong winds and storm surge battered
buildings and destroyed farmlands across
Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, and Rangamati, with
at least 20,000 houses damaged in refugee
camps for Rohingya Muslims displaced by
conflict in neighbouring Myanmar. As of 31
May, eighteen people were reported to be
killed across Bangladesh, mostly due to falling
trees and drowning.

4 May 2019 Cyclone Fani moved into Bangladesh after making landfall
in Odisha. It killed 17 people in ten districts of
Bangladesh. It destroyed about 63,000 ha
(160,000 acres) of farmland in 35 districts of
the country, the agricultural loss were at ৳385
million (US$4.6 million). Total damage in
Bangladesh were up to ৳5.36 billion
(US$63.6 million).

9 November 2019 Cyclone Bulbul made landfall near West Bengal, and crossed
into Bangladesh. It caused severe flooding and
storm surge in the country, with approximately
72,000 metric tons of crops being lost, with a
total value of Tk 2.6 billion (US$31 million).

20 May 2020 Cyclone Amphan moved into Bangladesh after making landfall
in nearby West Bengal.

Floods:

The 2004 flood was very similar to the 1988 and 1998 floods with two thirds of the country under
water.
In early October 2005, dozens of villages were inundated when rain caused the rivers of
northwestern Bangladesh to burst their banks.
Floods also occurred in 2015 and 2017. In 2017, unpredicted early heavy rain caused flooding in
several parts of Bangladesh and damaged pre-harvested crops in April. The April flood continued
until the last week of August and caused substantial damage to housing, property, and
infrastructure. Using Sentinel-1, comprehensive flood inundation maps of Bangladesh for March,
April, June, and August 2017 show that the presence of perennial waterbodies in March 2017
covering an area of 5.03% in Bangladesh. In April, a total flood-inundated area was 2.01%, most
inundation occurring in cropland (1.51%), followed by rural settlement and homestead orchard areas
(0.21%) and other areas (0.29%). Similarly, more area was inundated during the catastrophic June
and August months, with inundation covering 4.53% and 7.01%, respectively.

Floods that begans in june 2020 has already effected 3.3million people of Bangladesh. According
to a report of 25 July by the Humanitarian Coordination Task Team (HCTT), 21 districts of the
country have now been affected, with 16 of them seeing moderate to severe impacts. Flooding has
inundated over 34,000 km2 of land, which amounts to 24% of the country. Almost 75% of Jamalpur
district is flooded. Over 90 people have died in flooding since 30 June, including 41 children.
Approximately 56,000 people have been displaced to 1,086 flood shelters. Over 1,900 schools have
been damaged, leaving 807,467 children without access to education.

Droughts:

Drought a prolonged, continuous period of dry weather along with abnormal insufficient rainfall. It
occurs when evaporation and transpiration exceed the amount of precipitation for a reasonable
period. Drought causes the earth to parch and a considerable hydrologic (water) imbalance resulting
water shortages, wells to dry, depletion of groundwater and soil moisture, stream flow reduction,
crops to wither leading to crop failure and scarcity in fodder for livestock. Drought is a major
natural hazard faced by communities directly dependent on rainfall for drinking water, crop
production, and rearing of animals. After 2000, Bangladesh had not faced any such kind of drought
that has significant impact into the economy or death.

Landslide

Landslide the perceptible downward sliding or falling of a relatively dry mass of earth, rock or
combination of the two under the influence of gravity. The cause is often infiltration of water that
makes the swelling soils (clays) more fluid. Landslides are a major cause of erosion, causing the
strongest degradation known, often exceeding 10,000 tons per sq km in a year. They are common in
the hilly areas of southeastern Bangladesh. These areas have a long history of instability. Although
written records of landslide incidents are very rare, they have been a hazard to people ever since
they have been living there. In fact, every year especially in the rainy season landslides take place in
both natural and man-induced slopes.
Table: List of major landslide events in Bangladesh during period 2000 to 2020

Year Imapct

2000 At least 13 people were killed and 20 injured in

landslide incidents on the Chittagong
University campus and other parts of
Chittagong City on Saturday, the 24 June 2000.
The incident was caused due to the deluge of
mud and water that swamped various part of the
port city amid torrential rain. The landslides
damaged property worth several lacs of taka in
those places.

2007 The 2007 Chittagong mudslides occurred in the

port city of Chittagong in south-eastern
Bangladesh. On 11 June 2007, heavy monsoon
rainfall caused mudslides that engulfed slums
around the hilly areas of the city. The death toll
was reported to be at least 128, including at
least 59 children, with more than 150 injured.

2008 The landslide of 18August 2008 took place at

the very early in themorning killing 11 people
 of the city vanishingtwo whole families of
Hossain Colony of Matijharna area of Lalkhan
Bazaar. A total of 10 people were trapped to
death by rubble of collapsed house, including
six members of asame family, while one more
was death inhospital. The devastating event
completely bulldozed 13 cottages in a sudden
moment. Thenight was full of shower of rain
having a record of 142 mm in 24 hours till
12.00 noon of the18th August, according to
local weather department record. Another
landslide was observed at Bhaditalavillage
under Sadar sub-district of Cox’s Bazaar,a
neighbouring district of Chittagong. It was
alsoa rain induced landslide that happened at
around 4.00 am leading 3 deaths. The average
rainfall of the city was 133mm in 24 hours of
time.

2017 On 12 June 2017, heavy monsoon rain

triggered a series of landslides and floods in
Rangamati, Chittagong and Bandarban - three
hilly districts of Bangladesh - and killed at least
152 people. The worst-hit district was
Rangamati, where landslides buried hillside
houses where people were sleeping.

Earthquakes:

Earthquake trembling or shaking movement of the earth's surface. Most earthquakes are minor
tremors, while larger earthquakes usually begin with slight tremors, rapidly take the form of one or
more violent shocks, and end in vibrations of gradually diminishing force called aftershocks.
Earthquake is a form of energy of wave motion, which originates in a limited region and then
spreads out in all directions from the source of disturbance. Bangladesh is positioned at the
juncture of several active tectonic plate boundaries. The capital city is vulnerable to the
earthquake as the country is in an active region in terms of vertical and horizontal
movement of tremor. The existence of an active fault has been proved in Haluaghat of
Mymenshingh recently, adding further risk to the vulnerability. Some impactful earthquake in
the last two decades in Bangladesh are as follows:

Table: List of Earthquakes happened in Bangladesh in period 2000-2020

Year Effects

2003 Occurred on 27 July at Kolabunia union of Barkal upazila, Rangamati district with
magnitude 5.1. The time was at 05:17:26.8 hours.

2006 Known as the Narail earthquake. This tremor occurred on 5 August. The earthquake
had a magnitude estimated 4.2 on the Richter scale with epicentre located 110 km
southwest of Dhaka near Narail. The tremor was widely felt in Dhaka as well as other
 places in the country.

2008 Known as the Manikganj earthquake. A minor earthquake jolted Dhaka and
surroundings on the evening of 20 March 2008 and created considerable panic among
the city dwellers. The earthquake had a magnitude measured 3.8 on the Richter scale.
The epicenter was situated in Manikganj 41 km west-northwest of DUEO. It was
believed to be originated from the Madhupur fault.

2008 Known as Mymensingh earthquake, this temblor occurred in the middle of the night of
27 July 2008.The epicentre was located 12 km northeast of Mymensingh city and120
km north of Dhaka. It had a magnitude estimated 5.1 on the Richter scale. Apart from
Mymensingh where the earthquake caused panic, tremors from this earthquake were felt
in many parts of the Dhaka metropolitan area.

2008 Known as Chandpur Earthquake. An earthquake with couple of aftershocks jolted

Dhaka on the evening of 20 September 2008 just before Iftar. It caused tremendous
panic among the city dwellers. The epicenter was 50 km southeast of Dhaka near
Kachua of Chandpur. The magnitude was 4.5 on the Richter scale.

2009 Known as eastern Bhutan earthquake. A strong earthquake occurred on the day of Eid-
ul-Fitr, 21 September 2009. The epicenter was situated in eastern Bhutan, 410 km
north-northeast of Dhaka. It originated from the Main Central Thrust (MCT). This
distant quake had a magnitude of 6.1, but shook most of Bangladesh including Dhaka.

2009 Known as Bay of Bengal Earthquake. Occurred on 11 August at Bangladesh time

01:55:35:.61 hours. The epicentre was located at the North Andaman Islands of the Bay
of Bengal and seacoast of Myanmar. The magnitude recorded was 7.5. Though no
significant damage was reported throughout Bangladesh the tremor was felt strongly in
Dhaka.

2010 Occured on 10 September night at 11:30 pm local time. The tremor was felt in Dhaka
and its surrounding areas with magnitude 4.8. The epicentre was 45 km southwest from
Dhaka.

2011 Occured on 6:30 pm local time with magnitude 6.8. It lasted for 2 minutes. The tremor
felt was strong enough in Capital city Dhaka and the districts of northern part of
Bangladesh The epicentre was 500 north from Dhaka in Indian Sikkims’s capital
Gangtok.

Thunderstorms and Lightning:

A thunderstorm is basically a storm, characterised by lightning and thunder. When the temperature
rises, hot moist air rises upwards- known as updrafts. At the same time, the cool air sinks
downwards, and this is called downdrafts. Collision between the updrafts and downdrafts creates
cumulonimbus clouds and it produces lightning and thunder. Thunderstorms occur almost
everywhere on the earth’s surface, one of the most dangerous convective weather events. An
estimated more than 1600–2400 thunderstorms occur at any moment and 50,000 each day, around
the globe.
In Bangladesh, only a few studies have been conducted on lightning. These reveal that the number
of lightning incidents in the country is quiet high. Another study shows that in Bangladesh, the
incidence of lightning fatalities is 0.9 per 1,000,000 population per year, which is higher than in
high-income countries. A total of 1,476 people have died from lightning in Bangladesh during 2010-
2016.

2000-2009: 106 deaths and 72 injuries per year, and 2010-2017: 260 deaths and 211 injuries per
year. Most lightning fatalities occurred between 0600 LST and 2000 LST when agricultural
activities overlap the occurrence of lightning. The largest numbers of casualties were during the pre-
monsoon season.

According to the Health Emergency Operation Center & Control Room, Directorate General of
Health Services of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in 2018, total deaths and injuries were
120 and 77 respectively due to thunderstorm and lightning.19 It was occurred only during the
months of March to June, with the highest 68 deaths and 41 injuries in May. In 2019, only till March
2019, the total deaths were 4, and it was in March.

Man made hazards:

The 2014 Sundarban oil spill:

The 2014 Sundarbans oil spill was an oil spill that occurred on 9 December 2014 at the Shela River
in Sundarbans, Bangladesh, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The spill occurred when an oil-tanker
named Southern Star VII, carrying 350,000 litres (77,000 imp gal; 92,000 US gal) of furnace oil,
was in collision with a cargo vessel and sank in the river. By December 17, the oil had spread over a
350 km2 (140 sq mi) area. The oil spread to a second river and a network of canals in Sundarbans,
which blackened the shoreline. The spill threatened trees, plankton, and vast populations of small
fish and dolphins. The spill occurred at a protected mangrove area, home to rare Irrawaddy and
Ganges dolphins. By 12 January 2015, 70,000 litres (15,000 imp gal; 18,000 US gal) of oil had been
cleaned up by local residents, the Bangladesh Navy, and the government of Bangladesh.

Industrial Hazards:

The 22-storey FR Tower fire in Dhaka

On March 28, 2019, at least 25 people died after a fire broke out in the 22-storey FR Tower in
Dhaka, trapping hundreds of office workers.

The blaze that burned for several hours trapped people inside the building, some shouting for help
from windows on upper floors and the roof. The fire injured about 70 people, many of them now
being treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital's burn unit. Some of those stuck inside made it to
safety by sliding down cables on the side of the building, but as shocked onlookers watched, others
took their chances and jumped in a bid to escape the smoke and heat.At least six people including a
Sri Lankan national died in this way, officials said.

Chawkbazar building fire in Dhaka

On February 21, 2019, at least 70 people died after a massive fire raced through several apartment
buildings also used as chemical warehouses in a centuries-old part of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.
The devastating blaze, which broke out at a building in Chawkbazar was brought under control by
firefighters almost 12 hours later.

The flames raced through four adjoining structures, which were also used as chemical warehouses,
including for storing plastic granules and body sprays.

2005 Dhaka garments collapse:

The 2005 Dhaka garment factory collapse or Spectrum garment factory collapse was a structural
failure that occurred on Monday, 11 April 2005 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka, Bangladesh where a
nine-story commercial building collapsed. The site is located about 30 km northwest of Dhaka. The
explosion of a boiler on the ground floor triggered the collapse. The owner of the building was
Shahriar Sayeed Husain, a Bangladeshi businecollapse.

2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse:

The 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse (also referred to as the 2013 Savar building collapse or
the Rana Plaza collapse) was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila
of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an eight-story commercial building called Rana Plaza
collapsed. The search for the dead ended on 13 May 2013 with a death toll of 1,134.[2]
Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building alive.[4] It is considered the
deadliest structural failure accident in modern human history and the deadliest garment-factory
disaster in history.

Bahaddarhat flyover collapse:

The Bahaddarhat Flyover collapse occurred on 24 November 2012 when steel girders collapsed in
the suburb of Bahaddarhat in Chittagong, Bangladesh, killing seventeen people. It was 7:30 pm local
time (GMT +6), when suddenly three girders fell down from a flyover (overpass) during
construction. The government of Bangladesh announced that sixteen people died at the scene and
over fifty people were injured.
Conclusion:

Geographical position of Bangladesh is always challenging for various natural hazards. Man made
hazards are adding burden to this problematic condition. During the last two decades climate of the
world had changed drastically. As of the geological position, Bangladesh had been impacted very
much due to the climate change. Continuous hazards making our life challanging but Bangladeshi
people are try to adapt with the adverse situation. Proper management and right decision during
right time can improve and help the adaption process of Bangladesh. People are becoming concious
about the manmade hazards and Bangladesh is improving gradually though some sectors are still
corrupted. Strong and efficient plan like 'Delta Plan 2100' implementation can really impact the
condition of the people vulnerable to hazards.