Reducing dangers of summertime disasters

Bangladesh with the population of some 160 million is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. In summer, Bangladesh has a long history of facing hazards such as tornadoes, flash floods and cyclones. Lives, livelihoods and properties are lost by these disasters.
Tornados mainly occur in the pre-monsoon (March-May), and post-monsoon (October-November) periods. They are suddenly formed and of brief duration and are extremely localised in nature. It is the pre-monsoon period when most of the abnormal rainfall or drought conditions frequently occur in different parts of Bangladesh. A tornado occurred in the Manikganj District (Saturia) on April 26, 1989. It was the costliest and deadliest tornado in Bangladesh's history. It killed around 1,300 people.
Also there are severe local seasonal storms, popularly known as nor'westers (kalbaishakhi). A severe nor'wester is generally associated with tornadoes. Wind-speeds in nor'westers usually range from 113-130 km/hr (70-80 miles/hr), though often their speeds exceed 162 km/hr (100 miles/hr).
Since independence in 1971, Bangladesh has experienced several major tornados, killing on an average more than 100 people in each event and causing severe damage in their narrow paths.
Cyclones and Storm Surges: Tropical cyclones from the Bay of Bengal accompanied by storm surges are one of the major disasters in Bangladesh. They occur mainly in April/May and October/November. The country is one of the worst sufferers of all cyclonic casualties in the world.
Cyclones and storm surges are a continuous threat for the coastal population. The average annual frequency of tropical disturbances in the Bay of Bengal ranges between 12 and 13, of which 5 attain the cyclonic strength. Most of these cyclones strike land on the Bangladesh coast or the coasts of Myanmar and India. On 29 April 1991 a powerful cyclone struck the coastal area of Bangladesh with winds of around 250 km/h. The storm killed at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless. The cyclonic storm "Aila" hit the south-western part (Khulna Division) on 25th May 2009, killing approximately 190 in Bangladesh. Several hundred thousands of homes were washed away when wind-driven tidal surges up to 3 metres destroyed the coastal belt of Khulna region.
Flash Floods: Haor areas of the north-eastern part of the country mainly face flash floods caused by sudden and rapid early downstream water of the surrounding upstreams during the period of late March to May. These floods cause quick damage to crops and property and are followed by relatively rapid recession. Haors are important areas for Boro rice cultivation (a rice variety cultivated from December to May). This Boro is main economic sector is a largely mono-cropping agricultural system in haors. But early flash floods often wash away standing crops and people lose their harvest. The country had experienced amplified occurrence of flash floods in the recent years of 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010 in the Haor areas that damaged the main paddy crops of the region.
Taking into account the risk and vulnerability of Bangladesh to the summer disasters, the following recommendations are placed to relevant organisations/actors/authorities for appropriate strategies and actions in improving further the emergency and disaster risk reduction performances:
Emergency Management: The key tasks are mentioned below for an effective emergency management.
Readiness for a rapid response encompasses those measures taken before a disaster event which are aimed at minimising loss of life, interference of critical services, and harm when the disaster occurs. It includes the formulation of workable hazard specific emergency plans, the development of warning systems, the maintenance of inventories and the training of workforce. It may also grip search and rescue measures as well as evacuation plans for communities at risk.
Prior to any emergency situation, the contingency plan provides the basis for identifying and further developing response capacity. The Contingency Plan is the basis of readiness and may cover 1) Analysis of the context, risk mapping and identification of likely emergency scenarios 2) mapping of capacity, vulnerabilities, constraint and resources, tangible/intangible assets 3) identification of other external organizations' capacity, constraint and resources in the department/ministry/area/country/region.  
Reduction of Risks:
It is expected that responsible authorities will act appropriately for reducing the disaster risks in line with the Disaster Management Vision of the Government of Bangladesh. The vision is to reduce the risk of people, especially the poor and the disadvantaged, from the effects of natural, environmental and human induced hazards, to a manageable and acceptable humanitarian level, and to have in place an efficient emergency response system capable of handling large-scale disasters. The major areas of interventions for reducing summer disaster risk could be:
1) Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction in existing development works and future initiatives of different government departments and non-government organisations (NGOs) of the country is very much important. Authorities concerned should develop disaster data base which is very important to carry out detailed study and planning. The Government authorities and NGOs need to redesign their development programmes with the active participation of the most vulnerable communities to ensure that they maximise disaster mitigation potential and incorporate traditional community coping practices which are fit technically, environmentally and economically. Some targeted but tested disaster risk reduction activities both structural (embankments, river protection, cyclone shelters, housing scheme) and non-structural could be undertaken in consultation with community at risk and relevant experts/organisations.
Appropriate feasibility and cost benefit analysis of independent authorities is very much needed for taking any structural protection initiatives. A public hearing and consultation is important in this regard.
3) The respective authorities at different levels should strengthen capacity building initiatives of local government and communities at risk. A well organised and coordinated effort is needed to further strengthening local level planning, implementing decision making process and the allocation of resource to local government for disaster proof programme in the vulnerable location. Proper resources from central government and others should be ensured by authorities and policy makers.
4) In forecasting cyclone and river floods of  Bangladesh is in good form, but in forecasting flash floods, tornados a lot of gaps and limitations are observed. At this point improvement of present forecasting system is very much needed. Bangladesh flood and flash flood warning information will not be at desired level without establishment of a strong regional data sharing and cooperation framework. A tornado forecasting system is needed where Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) and SPARRSO may play a significant role as tornado is generated in the land and provides minimum time for early warning and forecasting.
Reducing disaster risks of summer season is a significant step to protect lives, livelihoods and properties in Bangladesh. Effective initiatives in this, from the responsible authorities and duty bearers, are very much essential for the betterment of a large number of vulnerable people. The key government agencies and relevant organisations need to know the previously adopted "all hazard-all risk-all sector approach" - the Disaster Management Act 2012 endorses and promotes. The approach equally focuses Disaster Risk Reduction and emergency response management, with greater emphasis on equitable and sustainable development. Understanding and enabling policies and acts like Disaster Management Act, Standing Orders on Disasters (SOD) and National Building Code, through political determination, administrative diligence, appropriate resources, and accurate planning and monitoring mechanism are of utmost priority for the authorities and organisations concerned in this respect.
The writer is a Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Practitioner. He is also a Fellow of EPFL, Switzerland. The views expressed in the article are very much the author's personal matters and bear no link with his office. E-mail: farid.hasan2008@gmail.com