| Summary/Abstract |
The haor region, a wetland ecosystem situated in the north-eastern part of
Bangladesh in the Meghna river basin, is one of the disaster hot-spots of the
country. The area is geographically excluded and ecologically vulnerable.
Furthermore, it is a part of Bangladesh where poverty is prevalent and natural
disasters like floods and flash floods are very common. In 2017, the entire
haor region of the country was inundated due to early flash flood, generated
by relentless rain and onrush of flood water from the rivers upstream. Along
with the destruction of huge crops, the flash flood caused havoc in the region
by affecting livelihood opportunities including fisheries, duck farming, animal
husbandry etc. Based on that, the study takes an attempt to identify the
underlying factors responsible for high disaster risk of flash flood in the haor
region. The study argues that high disaster risk in the region is attributed to
multidimensional vulnerability factors which limit the coping capacity of the
people living there and make them susceptible to disasters. Apart from the
unique physical location and hydrological setting that makes the haor region
severely exposed to flash floods, the study identifies socio-political, economic,
environmental, institutional and governance related factors responsible for high
disaster risk in the region.
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