Danger of cyclones
The coastal belt of Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to natural hazards. In the last century, our country experienced some devastating cyclones, such as Barisal Cyclone (1965), Bhola Cyclone (1970) and the 1991 cyclone that struck Chittagong district – together causing the deaths of around 500,000 people. Major cyclones Sidr and Aila in 2007 and 2009 respectively also left the country battered. Last year, Cyclone Roanu hit the coastal belt. Strong winds, torrential rains and tidal surge caused floods and landslides. About 55,000 households were reportedly damaged and three million people were affected in Cox’s Bazar and adjacent districts.
In the last century there was a gap of minimum 15-20 years between two big cyclones but this gap has reduced. Just after two years of Cyclone Sidr, Cyclone Aila hit the coastal belt-proving once again the harsh reality of climate change caused by global temperature rise. The effects of climate change are already taking a huge toll on us and the severity is likely to only increase.
M Saify Iqbal
Dhaka
