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Government housing
reconstruction in
Bangladesh after the
Cyclone Sidr disaster
Landslide fatality numbers
severely underestimated
A new database developed by
Professor Dave Petley from the
International Landslide Centre at Durham
University, can help policymakers manage
landslide hazards and risks that have
been severely underestimated in the past.
According to the Durham Fatal
Landslide Database, 32,322 people
died in 2,620 landslides between
2004 and 2010. Previous estimates
ranged from 3,000 to 7,000 fatalities.
The database allows researchers and
policymakers to identify areas most at
risk where more effective earthquake
plans and response could help save
thousands of lives. It provides the first
detailed analysis of fatal landslides
across the world, identifying vulnerable
regions in China, Central and South
America, India and many others.
The research underpinning the database
focused on non-seismic processes,
which excludes earthquakes. More fatal
landslides were recorded from May to
October with monsoon rainfall as the
dominant trigger.
Extreme rainfall events such as cyclones
can trigger landslides in Asia while
hurricanes have the same effect in
parts of the Caribbean and Central
America. The database is compiled
from government statistics, aid agency
reports and research papers. The actual
numbers of landslide-induced fatalities
could be higher than records suggest,
as some landslide-prone regions do not
report all deaths caused by landslides.
Key Finding: Regions with a
combination of extreme changes in
landscape, intense rainfall, and a high
population density are most likely
to experience high numbers of fatal
landslides. Seismic activity also plays a
fundamental role in creating weakened
slopes that lead to landslides triggered
by subsequent rainfall.
‘Global patterns of loss of life from
landslides’. Geology, 40, 10. doi:
10.1130/G33217.1
New research by Dr Md
Nadiruzzaman, whose PhD in IHRR
and the Department of Geography
was funded by the Christopher Moyes
Memorial Foundation, has found that
housing reconstruction efforts made
by the government of Bangladesh
after the Cyclone Sidr disaster in
2007 were inadequate and in some
cases posed health risks. In coastal
Bangladesh 1.5 million homes were
completely or partially destroyed
leaving many people homeless
(nearly four times the number of
homes destroyed by the 2004 Indian
Ocean Tsunami). The study focuses
on communities living in the village
of Gabtola in southern Bangladesh,
which was hardest hit by the cyclone
in terms of death toll and damage. The
research shows that the government
failed to deliver homes in Gabtola of
better quality that could withstand
hazards, in fact, many local people
found them to be unliveable. The new
homes were not sufficiently resilient to
withstand cyclone hazards, nor were
they cost-effective or conducive to the
livelihoods of communities expected
to live in them. While the study notes
that the government of Bangladesh
has succeeded in improving people’s
lives after Cyclone Sidr by preventing
mortality caused by diarrheal disease
for example, there is much work to
be done in improving its ‘build back
better’ housing scheme for those left
homeless after the disaster. Findings
from the research have implications
for revising and improving postdisaster housing programmes for
disaster recovery.
‘Post-Sidr Public Housing Assistance
in Bangladesh: A Case Study’.
Environmental Hazards. doi:10.1080/
17477891.2012.759523
Number of fatalities caused by non-seismic landslides 2004-10.