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Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Floods - Revised Emergency Plan of Action, Emergency Appeal Operation n° MDRBD020

Attachments

Date of disaster: 13 August 2017

Summary of major changes (from initial Emergency Plan of Action):

• The appeal budget has increased from CHF 4,712,033 to CHF 4,813,498.

• The number districts targeted has reduced from 32 to 10 (most-affected), i.e. Kurigram, Dinajpur, Jamalpur,
Gaibandha, Tangail, Lalmonirhat, Sirajganj, Bogra, Naogaon, Rangpur.

• Multipurpose cash will be utilized as main modality for delivering assistance, with 20,000 households (100,000 people) to receive multipurpose – unconditional and unrestricted – cash grants.

• The number of communities/schools targeted with improved access to water has reduced from 50 to 20 communities.

• Target for hygiene kits and hygiene promotion has been reduced from 10,000 to 5,000 households • Target for livelihood assistance has been reduced from 2,000 to 1,500 households, with conditional cash to be used as main modality. Target for cash for work assistance has been reduced from 2,000 to 1,000 households.

• The shelter section has been detailed more, with 2,000 households to receive CGI (tin) sheets (two packages with 9 sheets each), shelter toolkits and blankets to repair their houses before the onset of winter and an additional 1,000 households, whose houses were completely destroyed, to be provided with a conditional shelter cash grant of BDT 40,000 to rebuild them. The target for rental assistance has been decreased from 250 to 200 households.

• Target for disaster risk reduction has been reduced from 10,000 to 5,000 households.

A. Situation analysis

Description of the disaster

Since 12 August 2017 heavy monsoon rains above the seasonal average have severely impacted the riverine region of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. This has resulted in intense flooding in almost two-thirds of Bangladesh, affecting over 8 million people. Bangladesh is experiencing floods for the fourth time this year and this latest flood has inundated the country. As of 12 September, the Government of Bangladesh reported that the floodwaters had receded in 28 of the 322 flood-affected districts.

Based on the recent FACT assessment and external reports, urgent needs for additional emergency shelter, non-food items (NFIs) and other assistance remain in districts most heavily affected. Latrines and tube wells were washed away and despite Government efforts to rehabilitate these rapidly, many still need repair. Due to the proactivity of the Government of Bangladesh there is no substantial spike in waterborne diseases but the risks remain. The affected areas are known for harvesting crops such as paddy (summer rice), jute (vegetable fibre), dhaincha (multipurpose legume), and vegetables. Most of the crops have been severely damaged.

According to the latest Government reports, over 650,000 hectares crops lands in 32 districts have suffered some scale of damage. Damaged roads and infrastructure have affected many people including farmers, fishermen, and char (island) dwellers.

Livelihoods and livelihoods activities have been adversely affected. Many farmers, whose crops were destroyed by the flood, have replanted, incurring extra seed and planting costs as well as a likely smaller harvest yield before the commencement of winter. Those reliant on wage labour have been adversely affected by the high cost of repairing or replacing damaged houses. In some of the chars, there have been reports that small businesses were washed away entirely. These conditions have forced some affected communities to resort to negative coping strategies such as taking high interest loans, selling livestock, and contributing to long-term risks.

The FACT findings indicated that, while the emergency has ended in many communities and early recovery has commenced, there remain pockets of severely affected villages (especially char communities) who are still living under basic tarpaulin covers and waiting for the end of the monsoon season. For these households, there is an urgent need for additional emergency shelter and other provisions.