Bangladesh By: Maddie, Sam, and Megan

Background  75% of Bangladesh is less than 10m above sea level  Located on Ganges Delta  80% is flood plain  Heavy rain common  800 rivers run through the country

History  Massive floods common  Flood of caused by tropical cyclone - Over 1 Million people died  The flood of ,000 km 2 of land, (60% of the area) - lasted 15 to 20 days

History Continued  The flood of flooding covered 2/3 of country for 9 months - 2,000 drowned and 30 million left homeless - destroyed a ¼ of all the crops, thousands starved  The flood of tropical cyclone that killed 1 million people and left 10’s of millions homeless

Why Care?  Millions die from drowning, starvation, and water borne illness  Mass migrations of refugees  Destroys crops and livestock

Future Issues  IPCC predicts rises in sea level will permanently flood 11% of Bangladesh  As climate warms, stronger storms are predicted  Population estimated to grow from 147 million in 2008 to 215 Million by 2050

Solutions  Preserve forests in Water Shed  Preserve and restore wetlands  Use floodplains for recharging aquifers  Sustainable agriculture and forestry

Solutions Continued  Straighten and deepen streams (channelization)  Build Levies and flood walls along streams  Build dams