Preparedness and management of (flood) disaster amid a pandemic in a developing country: Lessons from Cyclone Amphan in southwestern Bangladesh

Abstract

In the wake of worldwide health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, preparedness for disasters can be seriously challenging, especially for already-struggling developing nations. Evidence shows that investigating the dynamic balance between preparedness, communication and response helps in understanding the management systems of two very different forms of disasters happening together. One such case was investigated in Bangladesh, one of the countries with the highest level of vulnerability to changing climate. Bangladesh is prone to frequent cyclones, and more than 80% of the population is potentially at risk of flooding. The country is renowned for its Cyclone Preparedness Programme; however, managing the risk of Cyclone Amphan (May 2020) was hampered, as the country had never previously prepared for a cyclone during a global pandemic. This chapter examines the preparedness of the coastal population for dealing with the ‘dual disasters’ of Amphan and COVID-19. Two sets of participants (affected community, expert group) were interviewed using a snowball method to elucidate the adequacy of their preparedness levels. The outcome of the exercise revealed that due to inefficient institutional support and limited personal capacity, participants were not effectively prepared for the disasters. Their responses echoed some fundamental flaws in disaster management in the context of preparedness and response in tackling dual disasters for developing nations. Policy makers in Bangladesh and elsewhere need to stop normalising vulnerability.