Disaster management
Creation of
more climate refugees will certainly be a drag on the economy of Bangladesh
as a whole
The loss that Bangladesh incurs because of various kinds of disaster every year amounts to Tk 5,000 crore in financial terms, according to a report published in this newspaper yesterday. It is a very significant loss considering the limited resources the country has and the loss can be minimised greatly if the country achieves better abilities to cope with the serious natural disaster every year. Today the nation is observing the National Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Day and it is expected the Day will not pass only for ceremonial observance and the policymakers would be able to take resolve to increase the countrys disaster preparedness to a satisfactory level.
Because of Bangladeshs poor economic condition, the country indeed has limitations to quickly face great natural calamities such as Aila and Sidr and minimise loss of lives and properties like the developed nations of the world, yet it is true that even during the time of small-scale devastations, the governments relevant entities failed to show a quick response. Often we find that the affected people live with their deplorable condition in the open without any help of relief from the government for a long time. The tornado that lashed Brahmanbaria in 2013 is a classic example of this failure.
Given the scenario of climate change, Bangladesh is highly disaster-prone area and the experts have placed the country on the top of the list of global vulnerability ranking. Global warming in the recent days is taking a turn from bad to worse. Against this backdrop, there is every possibility that more natural calamities will leave trails of death and destruction at increasing frequencies in the future. In the recent days the number of climate refugees is increasing in Bangladesh and creation of more refugees will certainly be a drag on the economy of Bangladesh as a whole.
The government has taken up various laudable steps of constructing multipurpose cyclone centres, bridges and culverts, training volunteers and scout members but this is not enough. The country must develop smart technologies or procure the available ones to reduce or overcome the impacts, besides keeping ready a large disaster management fund always. In this regard, it is expected that the National Emergency Operation Centre will be set up soon to monitor rescue operations during the time of disaster. A swift and early forecast can do a lot to minimise loss of lives and properties and the government must work on this on a priority basis and establish forecasts centres all across the country.
