Natural disasters in Bangladesh cost about one billion dollars a year
Every year floods cost Bangladesh about one billion dollars. Global research organizations believe that if proper management is not done, the amount of damage will increase.
The Department of Agriculture says that Cyclone Remal and ongoing floods caused a lot of damage, but they won’t have much impact on the country as a whole.
The United Kingdom’s Center for Climate Change Economics says natural disasters cost Bangladesh about a billion dollars a year. Cyclone Remal has damaged crops on 100,000 hectares of land in 50 districts of the country. This has affected 500,000 farmers and caused a financial loss of TK 1,600 crore, according to the organization.
In addition to mountains, hills, swamps, wide range of crops are cultivated in Sylhet region. On the other hand, the northern region is rich in diverse crops.
However, every year during the monsoon season, floods occur in these two regions of the country due to landslides. Which turns the cherished dream of the farmer into ruin.
About 1.8 lakh people have been trapped in water in the north-eastern part of Sylhet for a few days. Fish farms were washed away, vegetable fields were destroyed.
The excess water tide in the Padma, Jamuna, Karatoa rivers in the north is eye-catching. Agriculture officials say that the farmers will be affected, but the extent of the damage has not been surveyed yet.
Nazrul Islam, an agricultural economist, said that not only Haor area, but all Sylhet areas are affected by this flood. In Sylhet, crops and other productions are being disrupted due to floods.
However, according to the Department of Agriculture, Bangladesh, this flood in June will not create a crisis in food security. Badal Chandra Biswas, the Director General of Agriculture Extension Department of Bangladesh, said,
“Our biggest achievement at the moment – the production of Boro rice has not been disrupted. “However, temporary damage to the vegetable crops in flood-prone areas can be compensated for.”
Economists have suggested the formation of a task force to assess crop damage due to these natural disasters. In this regard, agricultural economist Nazrul Islam also said that no task force work is seen in these times.
Flood forecasting, which areas are prone to more floods, and which areas are less, can be planned in advance accordingly.
The UK agency also said that floods inundate around 55 to 60 percent of Bangladesh every year.
