May 29, 2007
Another podcast about the 1991 cyclone and the floods that followed.
Key ideas about Bangladesh:
- Very low lying (>70% of land less than 1m above sea level)
- Close to the equator so temperatures are high >27 degrees and the perfect temperature for tropical storms to form
- 3 large rivers have their confluence in central Bangladesh - The Brahmaputra, Ganges and Meghna
- As an LEDC they can’t afford the flood prevention methods that would help them to deal with living in an area prone to floods although simple methods like building earthen embankments (levees) and planting mangrove trees are helping to protect the villages.
- There are poor communication methods so people are not aware that there will be flooding - families do not have tv or radio.
- Farmers welcome the floods because they provide valuable alluvium (silt) for the land.
- The flooding is being made worse by deforestation on the Himalayas so there is less interception and storage of rainwater.
- As the earth’s temperature rises and sea levels rise the impact of flooding on Bangladesh is expected to worsen.
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