Aila after Sidr

Audity Falguni

THE Bay of Bengal, a northern and extended arm of the Indian Ocean and covering about 510,000 square km, is probably the "rebellious daughter" of the ocean who often turns too angry and smashes the lives of thousands along its huge coastlines particularly in the months of May and October each year. Actually, the coast of Bangladesh is known as a zone of multiple vulnerabilities. It is prone to severe natural disasters, such as cyclones, storm surges, and floods.

The death toll from Cyclone Aila rose to 121; 800 wounded and at least 58,450 domestic animals killed (The Daily Star report -- May 27, 2009). The report quoting the disaster management ministry informs that at least 30 lakh people in 352 unions and 62 upazilas in 14 districts have been affected by the cyclone. Thankfully the level of damage was far less than Sidr in November last year.

Approximately 3,447 deaths were blamed on the storm according to governmental sources. Agencies like Save the Children or Red Crescent Society claimed the number of deaths to be within 5,000 to 10,000 in Sidr. A total of two million people had to take recourse in the emergency shelters. About a quarter of the world heritage site Sundarbans (the tropical mangrove forest) was damaged and it would take 40 years to recover itself from the catastrophe. Sidr was the strongest cyclone to hit Bangladesh since the cyclone of 1991.

Records of the last 200 years show that at least 70 major cyclones have hit the coastal belt region of our country. Some examples of severe tropical cyclones are the Barisal cyclone of 1584, the Bakerganj cyclone of 1876, the May 1985 Urir Char cyclone, the November 1970 cyclone and the Great cyclone of 1991. The November 12, 1970 cyclone hit the coastal districts severely, particularly those in the southwest. The official death figure was 1,70,000, but unofficial estimates were as high as 500,000. An area of about 8,100 km was affected. 400,000 houses, 3,500 schools and 20,000 fishing boats were destroyed and half a million tons of food grains were lost. The Great Cyclone of 29 April, 1991 caused an estimated 140,000 deaths, over 85% of them in just 5 upazilas, but more than 10 million people in 102 upazilas in Chittagong, Noakhali and Cox's bazaar were affected (1).

The total population in the coastal zone amounts to 35.08 million, male population being 17.9 million and female 17.1 million (BBS, 2003) living in 6.8 million households in 19 districts comprising of 147 upazilas in the coastal zone of Bangladesh. The total number of coastal population increased from only 8.1 million a century earlier. Agricultural laborer, small farmer, fishermen and urban poor make up 70% of the 6.85 million households in coast and the coastal population is projected to grow to about 41.8 million in 2015 and 57.9 million in 2050. The extent of poverty is relatively high compared with the remaining part of Bangladesh: 52% are poor and 24% are extreme poor.

Of the coastal population, 49.1 percent are female and 41% of the total population is below 15 years of age. Of 6.8 millions households in the coastal area, the number of female headed households stand at about 3.4 million, higher than the national average of 2.37 (BBS, 2003) millions. While both poor men and women in the coast have a common legacy of poverty and insecurity, the poor woman is poorer than the poorest man. Rate of severe malnutrition among girl children in comparison to the boy children is also higher than the national average.

The state of reproductive health among coastal women is worse than elsewhere in Bangladesh. Violence against women is a common phenomenon in the coastal area including domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse, trafficking and acid threats. Frequent sea cyclones-tornados-floods often make millions of coastal people homeless and women become the worst victim of the natural disasters. Relief and rescue workers recorded lots of incidents during the last Sidr whereupon women in the marooned areas have been raped, allured to be trafficked or get engaged in prostitution for food, safe drinking water or shelter.

If we turn our glance to the indigenous people living in coastal regions of the country, we would note that relief and rescue operations particularly at government level reaches the indigenous people last. This contributor herself recorded allegations by religious and ethnic minorities from the Sidr devastated areas on 2007 that relief reaches them very rare. In the coastal areas, Bengalees are the dominant ethnic community, comprising more than 99% of the population.

According to the 1991 census, there are 0.2 million people belonging to the minority ethnic communities living in the coastal zones including the Rakhaines, Pundra-Khatrio, Munda and Mahato. The Rakhaines are the largest indigenous community in the coastal region particularly in the Kolapara upazila of the Patuakhali district, Sadar and Amtali upazila of Barguna district and Ukhia and Teknaf thanas of the Cox's Bazar district. The Rakhaines had undergone severe damages during last Sidr with little relief and rescue supports and in the aftermath of AILA there does not seem to be any exceptional either.

Although there are a total number of 92 relevant laws regarding disaster management and well-being of the coastal regions of Bangladesh, it is yet to be decided that a separate "coastal zone regulations" would be relevant to enact in Bangladesh as has been done in some other countries. The Program Development Office for Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (PDO-ICZMP) has recently prepared a "Compendium on the Laws Relating to and/or having Bearing on Coastal Areas" (PDO-ICZMP, 2004: Where Land Meets the Sea, page 233), it is yet to be approved at government policy level. Recurring natural disasters along the coast-lines of Bangladesh warns the nation to adopt a frame-work of policy guidelines relating to techniques of disaster management and economic rehabilitation programs focusing on poor, women and indigenous people in the coastal area unanimously.

Audity Falguni is a development activist and freelance writer.

1 - Where Land Meets the Sea: A Profile of the Coastal Zone of Bangladesh, edited by M.Rafiqul Islam, UPL July 2004 (pg 78-79).