Responses to Cyclone Warnings: The Case of Cyclone Mora (2017) in Bangladesh

Effective disaster warning systems prevent deaths and injuries and protect livelihoods. We examined why people at risk do not move to safe places despite warnings and evacuation orders, by looking at responses to warnings for Cyclone Mora (2017) in Bangladesh in two villages of the Khulna District. Qualitative and quantitative data showed that almost all respondents received warnings before the cyclone, most from more than one source. However, only 21.6% of households took shelter in any place other than their own house. Most of these households did so with all members of their household, and most used a cyclone shelter. Almost all non-evacuee households had more than one reason for not moving to another place. The most important reasons were that they thought the weather was good despite warnings, thought the cyclone would not occur in their area, had a fatalistic attitude, were a long distance from the nearest cyclone shelter, had poor road networks to go to the cyclone shelter, considered their own house to be a safe place, were scared of burglary, recalled that nothing happened during previous warnings, and were worried about overcrowded cyclone shelters. Our findings can help develop more effective warning systems in cyclone-prone regions globally.

Shelter management during pandemics: lessons from cascading risks of cyclones and COVID-19

Purpose The concept of multi-purpose cyclone shelters has been found effective in saving various lives during past cyclones. The recent cyclone Amphan, which hit the Indian states of Odisha and West Bengal in the middle of pandemic COVID-19 has posed severe issues related to cyclone shelter management in the rural areas. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the case of Odisha in a pandemic and draw some key lessons of cyclone shelter management, which can be useful for future cascading risks in other parts of the country and the region. Design/methodology/approach Cyclone shelters are critical infrastructures in the management of cyclones, associated hazards and saving crucial lives. The effective management of shelters during emergencies is dependent on the existing institutional mechanism, local stakeholders and their understanding of the key functions of the emergency shelters. This paper reviews the key challenges through literature, reports and direct interviews of field professionals and practitioners. Findings In normal times, cyclone shelters are used as schools and their management lies with the local communities and/or elected bodies. Some of the key emerging issues include: the convincing population at risk for evacuation with proper care, existing emergency shelters being repurposed as COVID-19 facilities, need for hygiene and safety material, special arrangement and segregation of population at higher risk of COVID-19 and large destruction of social infrastructures. Originality/value During cascading disasters, adaptive governance becomes important. With the study of cyclones during the pandemic period, the paper draws key decision-making and governance points of cyclone shelter management. This case analysis can be useful to other similar situations during the prolonged pandemic time.

Disaster Resilient Rescue of Coastal Community on Cyclone Warning

Bangladesh is in the front line of battlefield of disasters due to geographical location and global warming faced over 200 natural disasters in past 40 years and most of the disasters were cyclones. People need to be evacuated and rescued before a cyclone landfall. In current practice, multipurpose cyclone shelter (MPCS) provides short-term safety for the disaster victims in Bangladesh, where people are rescued after disasters which cannot ensure survival of lives. This study aims to develop a method for efficient evacuation and rescue to reduce death tolls in the events of disasters. This study used Wi-Fi scanner and smartphones to detect people. An inbuilt index that includes name, address, mobile number, photo, service set identifier (SSID), and media access control (MAC) of smartphone was developed for 90 registered participants. In this controlled experiment, few new participants turned on hotspot in every five minutes. A new index of people with MAC/SSID was developed in MPCS simulating an emergency. Missing people were detected by comparing inbuilt index and new index, and ordered them self-evacuation. This method captured 100% evacuees. Most importantly, the proposed method will reduce death tools because the people are rescued earlier to a disaster hits a specific area.

Evacuation Behavior: Why Do Some People Never Evacuate to a Cyclone Shelter During an Emergency? A Case Study of Coastal Bangladesh

According to the World Risk Report in 2018, Bangladesh has been identified as the most vulnerable country in the world. Among the 64 districts of this country, 19 districts are known as coastal districts 36.8 million people live in high-risk areas. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the reasons and factors why many residents do not comply with evacuation orders to cyclone shelters in an emergency period. Based on survey data collected from the survivors this paper finds that prior to the landfall of cyclone Komen in 2015 the majority of the respondents in Kutubdia Upazila had received cyclone warning either from Cyclone Preparedness Program volunteers or the radio, but only 61% of respondents in this village responded to the warning by seeking protection in the nearby shelter. The major identified reasons for 39% of respondent’s non-compliance with evacuation orders are the long distance of a cyclone shelter from home, an absence of the head of the family, gender-related concerns, not enough space in the shelter, the poor road network and no space for livestock in the shelter. It is also found that people did not start evacuation until observing the symptom of risk. To improve cyclone preparedness and response to evacuation orders from residents, an educational campaign by Government and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) is needed in coastal zones to improve the use of public cyclone shelters. Finally, to reduce risk Government should take the initiative for infrastructural development in the coastal areas of Bangladesh.

Analysis of Cyclone Shelter Patterns to Build a Better Shelter Management: A Case Study of Bangladesh Southern Region

Bangladesh is located geographically in a vulnerable location. Every year different types of natural disasters like cyclone, flood, Nor'wester, tornado, storm surge, salinity, drought, river erosion, river bed siltation, land slide, etc. visit in our country. Cyclone is a very common phenomenon in our country. Cyclone shelter is the haven place for the coastal people during the cyclonic event. There are various types of cyclone shelters in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The overall aim of the research is to identify the best types of cyclone shelters for better shelter management. A total of ten types of cyclone shelters are considered to conduct this research work. The qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed. A priority index matrix is made to identify the best types of cyclone shelters. Different types of data were analyzed viz. access road conditions, enter and exit facilities, physical elements of the cyclone shelters. From the data analysis, it is identified that type 6 cyclone shelter is the best pattern among ten cyclone shelters. This research finds out some weaknesses of the current shelter management practices like a warning signal, poor condition of the shelter, relief work-related problem, electricity, drinking water, and limited logistic support. Finally, the research also made some recommendations for new builds, existing, and institutional arrangements of cyclone shelters that may help to improve the future establishment of cyclone shelters in coastal areas of Bangladesh. So, the identified better pattern of cyclone shelter will improve the emergency management system by providing better shelter management facilities during an emergency situation of any cyclonic event.

Delineating the Service Area of Cyclone Shelter and Vulnerable Households Using Network Analyst Tool: a Case Study on Southkhali Union of Bagerhat District, Bangladesh

In Southkhali Union of Bagerhat district in Bangladesh about 47% of the total population is living beyond the service area of cyclone shelters (CS) not only for the carrying capacity of CS but also for the accessibility. Location-allocation tool of Network Analyst tool in ArcGIS determined the service area of each CS in the study area based on its shelter capacity and accessibility. People residing outside the service area of cyclone shelter are highly vulnerable due to low elevation of land and poor housing structure. The location-allocation tool of Network Analyst provided the proper evacuation plan that would identify the shelter location for each household or cluster of population and the evacuation route also. It would also help to find the proper location to build new shelters for unserved community. Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh, Sci. 44(2): 137-148, December 2018

MEASURING POLICY BENEFITS OF THE CYCLONE SHELTER PROGRAM IN THE NORTH INDIAN OCEAN: PROTECTION FROM INTENSE WINDS OR HIGH STORM SURGES?

This paper provides a quantitative estimate of the policy benefit of the cyclone shelter program (CSP) implemented in Bangladesh. The present author examines all cyclones that were generated in the North Indian Ocean, both the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, from 1990 to 2015. A negative binomial (NB) model of cyclone fatalities against cyclone intensity finds that the CSP does little in protecting people’s lives against the high storm intensity. In contrast, a two-stage NB model of cyclone fatalities against the level of surges reveals that the CSP is vastly effective against storm surges. The number of fatalities is, on average, 75% smaller in the areas where the shelter program has been implemented against the areas without the program in response to the same level of storm surges. A set of Probit adoption models of adaptation options in response to cyclone surges and intensity reveals that the CSP has been directed to a low-income area with high population density, which is in contrast to the other strategies which have been increasingly adopted with higher income, e.g., cyclone trajectory projection technologies.

Status of cyclone shelter facilities in south central Bangladesh

The south central region of Bangladesh is vulnerable to devastating cyclone. One of the most recognizable strategies to reduce risk of cyclone is cyclone shelter (CS). This study focuses on peoples perception on the status of cyclone shelter facilities in terms of its feasibility, water supply-sanitation facility and people‘s expectation about overall environmental conditions etc. To review the perceived status of CS in south central region, a face to face questionnaire survey was conducted. Besides some key informants interview was also performed to validate the collected data by interview. The results revealed that the facilities of the CS were not satisfactory according to the most of the respondents. Among the respondents about 60% are highly vulnerable to cyclone. However, about 56% people were not interested to go CS during the disaster warning period because of the absence of connecting road. Another important issue that people indicated for going to CS was women security. More than 50% of the respondent perceived about unhealthy sanitation facilities. Safe drinking water, men and women separate bathroom perceived to be the important considerable factors among the CS facilities in the study area.J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 9(1): 75-79 2016