Disaster Report 2013 Department of Disaster Management Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Disaster Report 2013 1 All rights reserved by the Department of Disaster Management, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh First Published: October, 2014 Chief Advisor Mohammad Abdul Wazed, Director General, Department of Disaster Management Technical Committee Ataur Rahman, Deputy Director (Training), Department of Disaster Management Khemraj Upadhyaya, Consortium Manager, National Alliance for Risk Reduction and Response Initiative Naser Shawkat Haider, Programme Manager - DIPECHO VII, ActionAid Bangladesh Abdul Jalil Lone, Project Manager – DIPECHO VII, Concern Worldwide Shah Muntamin Mujtaba, Program Manager, Islamic Relief Bangladesh MD. Rezaul Karim, Consultant-DRR-CCAA Data Compilation, Drafting and Editing Professsor Dr. Shahidul Islam Nushrlamat Rahman, Program Officer, Islamic Releif Bangladesh Farzana Haque, Designer Published by Department of Disaster Management, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Disaster Management Bhaban, 92-93 Mohakhali C/A, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh Tel: (+88-02) 9841581, Fax (+88-02) 9860130, Website: www.ddm.gov.bd 2 Disaster Report 2013 PREFACE The Department of Disaster Management (DDM) under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) is very pleased to publish the Annual Report 2013 on Disaster Response. The report is a reflection of the accumulated report of loss and damages caused by the disasters occurred in Bangladesh in 2013.Bangladesh has proved its capacity to manage disasters through effective response mechanism; especially in Cyclone Mahasen, Tornado of Brahmanbaria and Rana Plaza tragedy. During the period of Cyclone Mahasen in the southern coastal area of Bangladesh, government, non-government organization/agency, civil society and community collaborated and organized preparedness activities that saved thousands of lives and assets in Borguna district. The emergency response mechanisms adopted by these institutions were demonstration of strength of Bangladesh to reduce the disaster risk. The Rana Plaza tragedy that occurred on April 24, 2013 caused death of 1,135 people. However, the 2,500 injured people rescued alive from the building goes to show what is the country’s capacity in disaster management. In preparing this report, DDM acknowledges the contribution and cooperation of the NARRI consortium for providing technical support that was existed throughout the entire development process of the annual report on Disaster 2013. We, on behalf of DDM, would like to extend our thanks to the Minister, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, as well as different other Ministries, Directorates, Departments, Institutes and Bureaus of the Government for their unconditional supports and encouragement in developing this report. The Department would also like to take this opportunity to express deep appreciation to European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) for financing the production of the report through NARRI consortium. Mohammed Abdul Wazed Director General (Additional Secretary) Department of Disaster Management (DDM) Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Disaster Report 2013 3 ABBREVIATION BDRCS : Bangladesh Red Crescent Society BDT : Bangladesh Taka BGB : Border Guard Bangladesh BMD : Bangladesh Meteorology Department BWDB : Bangladesh Water Development Board CDMP : Comprehensive Disaster Management Program CPP : Cyclone Preparedness Program DDM : Department of Disaster Management DL : Danger Level DMIC : Disaster Management Information Center FFWC : Flood Forecasting and Warning Center GOC : General Officer Commanding IFRC : International Federation of Red Crescent and Red Cross MoDMR : Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief MT : Metric Tons NDRT : National Disaster Responding Team PWD : Public Works Department RAB : Rapid Action Battalion RHD : Roads and Highways Department SOD : Standing Orders on Disaster SPARRSO : Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization UDMC : Union Disaster Management Committee UP : Union Parisad UzDMC : Upazila Disaster Management Committee WFP : World Food Program WL : Water Level 4 Disaster Report 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Chapter 1: Introduction Bangladesh, one of the most vulnerable countries of the world in terms of natural and anthropogenic hazards, is a low-lying deltaic country covering an area of 147,470 sq. km and supporting about 150 million people with a population density of 1033 per km2. The geographical setting and meteorological characteristics has made the country vulnerable to different geo-hazardsand hydro-metrological hazards. The major disasters concerned in the country are floods, cyclones, droughts, tidal surges, tornadoes, earthquakes, river erosion, fire, infrastructure collapse, high arsenic contents of ground water, water logging, water and soil salinity, epidemic, and various forms of pollution etc. These events are termed as disasters when they adversely affect the entire environment, including human beings, shelters and the resources essential for livelihoods. This report is an overview of the disasters, both natural and human induced, which affected Bangladesh in 2013. The report has been prepared based on data available with BMD, BWDB, DMIC, and concerned NGOs. Various daily newspapers were also reviewed to gather relevant information. Case studies on Cyclone Mahasen, Tornado of Brahmanbaria and building collapse of Rana Plaza were also developed to complement the report. Chapter 2: Flood Floods are normal phenomenon in Bangladesh. It usually occurs during the monsoon season. In 2013, the country experienced normal flooding incidents in July and September. On the onset of monsoon in July, a wider part of north Bengal and part of central region along the river Brahmaputra were affected. Furthermore, the north-western part of the country was flooded; although the area affected by flood was high, the duration was relatively low. In the northeastern part, on the contrary, flood intensity was short to moderate while moderate flooding occurred for short duration in the central region. In the southwestern part of the country, particularly in Satkhira and Khulna districts, floods were prolonged due to poor drainage conditions, especially in Kobodak Haribhanga and Shibsa river catchment areas. At Jhikorgacha of the Kobodak River, the water flow was above the danger level for consecutive 120 days (Annual Flood Report 2013, FFWC, Page VI) ; 9 people were killed and about 28,000 families were affected. Chapter 3: Cyclone and Storm Surge Cyclone and storm-surges are common annual events during the pre-monsoon and retreating monsoon periods along the coastal belt of Bangladesh. In 2013, the number of such coastal cyclonic events were quite few compared to previous years. The cyclone MAHASEN made landfall on 16th May as a pre-monsoon type cyclonic event. The cyclone affected 8 coastal districts that including Chittagong, Bhola, Barguna, Pirojpur, Noakhali, Patuakhali, Satkhira and Laxmipur; 386, 221 people 251 unions of 42 upazilas of these 8 districts were affected by the cyclone. The devastating consequences of the cyclone included death of 17 people and 102 injuries; also,14,828 houses were fully and 44,182 were partly damaged. 1 Foot note required Disaster Report 2013 5 Chapter 4: Tornados and Nor’-Wester A total number of 5 Tornado incidents were reported in the year 2013. These were Brahmanbaria Tornado on 22nd March, Natore and Noagoan Tornadoes on 1st April, Jessore Tornado on 25th May and Gopalganj Tornado on10th June. Among these, the Brahmanbaria Tornado was particularly catastrophic in nature; it passed through 6 unions of 2 upazilas of Brahmanbaria District. More than 15 villages were affected by the super Tornado, and a total of 34 people were killed and 388 were injured. Although the Natore Tornado had no death toll, 479 households were heavily and 809 households were partially affected. At Noagoan, 2 people died and 26 were injured. A total of 340 households were heavily and 3830 households were partially affected. Chapter 5: Building Collapse In recent years, incidents of building collapse have increased significantly throughout the country. A total of 7 buildings collapsed during 2013 killing 1135 people4 . However, the collapse of Raza Plaza on April 24, 2013 was the most tragic industrial accident in the history of Bangladesh; it killed 1135 people, leaving 2,500 people injured. Immediately after the incident, a rescue operation was initiated under the guidance of Bangladesh Army in association with Bangladesh Navy, Fire Service, BGB and Police. In addition, many volunteers took part in the rescue activities. One of the important aspects of the rescue operation was the stimulus participation of volunteers of different age and groups. Around 1,000 volunteer from Dhaka, Keraniganj and Narayanganj took part in the rescue operation. Chapter 6: Cold Wave Cold wave coupled the country during the first week of January, affecting more than 20 districts including Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamary, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogra, Joypurhat, Naogaon, Nawabganj, Rajshahi, Natore, Sirajganj, Pabna and Mymensing in the north, Moulvibazar in the east and few districts in the south namely Kushtia, Jessore, Faridpur and Madaripur. More than 50%