Bangladesh's vulnerability to cyclonic coastal flooding

• Published in: Natural hazards and earth system sciences Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 729 - 751
• Main Authors: Bernard, Aurélia, Long, Nathalie, Becker, Mélanie, Khan, Jamal, Fanchette, Sylvie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 08-03-2022; Copernicus Publ. / European Geosciences Union; Copernicus Publications
• Subjects: Bangladesh; Climatic extremes; Coastal flooding; Cyclones; Environment and Society; Environmental Sciences; Flood hazards; Flooding; Floodplains; Floods; Inhabitants; Interdisciplinary aspects; Population density; Probability theory; Rain; Risk assessment; Scientific papers; Tidal floods; Tidal waves; Topography; Vulnerability; Bangladesh
• ISSN: 1684-9981; 1561-8633; 1684-9981
• DOI: 10.5194/nhess-22-729-2022

In the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna delta, covering most of Bangladesh, more than 165 million people live in low-lying coasts facing major extreme climatic events, such as cyclones. This article reviews the current scientific literature publications (2007–2020) in order to define
vulnerability in the context of coastal Bangladesh facing cyclonic flooding. Based on this review, a new metric, called the socio-spatial vulnerability index (SSVI), is defined as function of both the probability of the cyclonic flood hazard and the sensitivity of delta inhabitants. The main result shows that the districts of Shariatpur, Chandpur and Barisal situated in the tidal floodplain of the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna delta are in the fourth quartile, i.e., highest category, the most vulnerable areas. These districts are very densely populated (from 870 up to 1400 inhabitants per square kilometer) and exposed to inundation hazards with a large number of vulnerability factors. Finally, the delta's mouth was identified as a very vulnerable area to cyclonic flooding as well.