Cities in Bangladesh ravaged by floods brought by Cyclone Sidr are rising up to become livable once more. Urban infrastructures have been rehabilitated using cyclone resistant and flood protection design standards. Flood control structures and drainage have been improved, and flood and cyclone shelters were built for future disasters.
Creating livable cities is more challenging and urgent today, as the devastating effects of climate change and widening income gaps are endangering both people’s lives and livelihoods. Recent disasters that have hit Asia have disrupted many countries’ economic growth and have pushed many people into deeper poverty. Partnership can provide the impetus needed to make Asian cities more livable.
The Emergency Disaster Damage Rehabilitation (Sector) Project is one example of how partnerships can help cities become more livable, especially after a natural disaster. In 2007, Cyclone Sidr ravaged Bangladesh and floods inundated almost half of the country. Through partnership, the country was not only able to restore what was damaged. It was able to build and rehabilitate infrastructure in both rural and urban areas using cyclone resistant and flood protection design standards.
The cyclone and floods that hit Bangladesh in 2007 severely battered the country’s infrastructure. Cyclone Sidr inundated 42% of the country’s landmass in November 2007 and spawned floods that rendered much of the country’s infrastructure into ruin, disrupted businesses, and slowed down basic services. It caused the country economic losses of about $1.05 billion and affected 25 million people in 51 districts.
The Emergency Disaster Damage Rehabilitation (Sector) Project, cofinanced by ADB, Canada, The Netherlands, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the OPEC Fund for International Development, helped Bangladesh get back on its feet. Their partnership widened the scope of the project and enhanced the benefits it gave to the affected people.
Interventions
The project had five major components that quickly mitigated the impact of the cyclone and floods. The first component involved the quick provision of essential commodities and inputs, particularly for agriculture so that farmers can quickly go back to work. The second focused on the rehabilitation and restoration of rural infrastructure in 23 districts. It also built and repaired 300 flood and cyclone shelters to help rural communities, especially the poor, during future floods and cyclones. The third rehabilitated urban infrastructure while the fourth component focused on repairing damaged national, regional, and district roads within the country’s seven road zones. The last component improved flood control, drainage, and irrigation facilities, and flood control structures.
Results
The project was able to recover and even increase economic activity after the disaster. Residents from local villages were able to gain direct employment from the project during the construction period. Traffic volume and market transactions rose, and gross domestic product growth increased from 5.7% in 2009 to 6.3% in 2011. This has grown to 7.9% in 2018. Moreover, access to health and education facilities improved after the roads were rehabilitated. The flood protection built by the project preserved the newly built and repaired infrastructure, even when regional floods occurred in 2009 and 2010.