 |
|
II. FLOOD LOSS REDUCTION AND REVIEW OF PAST EXPERIENCES
[ II-A | II-B
| II-C | II-D | II-E
| II-F ]
A. Flood mitigation measures
[ A-1 | A-2
]
2. Non-structural measures
Flood forecasting and warning:
The Flood Forecasting
and Warning Centre (FFWC) of the Bangladesh
Water Development Board (BWDB), established in 1972, is responsible for
river flood forecasts and flood warnings during the flood season. At present,
the FFWC issues river stages forecast for 21 stations on major and medium
rivers where slowly rising floods occur, formulated for lead times of 24
hours, 48 hours and 72 hours. The Bangladesh
Meteorological Department (BMD) is responsible for forecasts and warnings
of tropical cyclones and storm surges from the Bay of Bengal.
Flood preparedness: In
Bangladesh, there is an institutional arrangement for flood preparedness
under a National Guideline called 'Emergency
Standing Order for Flood'. It outlines the actions of flood preparedness
to be taken up by a large number of ministries (Ministries
of Disaster Management and Relief, Water
Resources, Agriculture,
Information, Health, Public Works, Local Government, Communication and
Defence), subordinate agencies, local councils and non-government organizations
(NGO) in the three defined phases viz. before, during and after floods.
The overall flood management programmes are coordinated by a National
Coordination Committee. The recently formed Disaster
Management Bureau under the Ministry
of Disaster Management and Relief is entrusted with the task of executing
action programmes at the grass roots level. Nearly 21,000 volunteers of
the Bangladesh
Red Crescent Society take part in the flood preparedness programmes in
the storm surge flood-prone areas in the coastal region.
Flood proofing: Flood proofing
of homesteads is a traditional precaution in the rural settlements of Bangladesh.
Homesteads are generally raised above maximum flood levels. Recently a Bangladesh
National Building Code (1993) has been prepared which stipulates that any
area having a potential for being flooded to a depth of at least 1 meter
should be designated as a Flood Prone
Area (FPA). The Code specifies that the lowest floor, including the basement,
of any building located in the FPA shall not be located below the design
flood level, and the roof of one or two storey buildings and the floor
immediately above the design flood level for three or more storey buildings
shall be accessible via an exterior stairway.
Cyclone shelters are constructed in the coastal zone where human lives
are at high risk due to cyclonic storm surge floods. Shelters stand on
stilts so that flood water can pass through. Earthen mounds are constructed
for ovine/bovine protection. Currently there are about 1,500 cyclone shelters
(Sener, 1996). The Multipurpose Cyclone Shelter Master
Plan (BUET and BIDS, 1993) estimated that 2,500 new shelters with an accommodation
capacity of 4.4 million persons would be required. Over the years, there
has been a significant change of emphasis from designing the shelters solely
for use as flood shelters to designing them for multipurpose use. Shelters
are now designed as schools, health centers and other community service
centers for normal time use.
|
|
|
