Composition | Recent Floods In Bangladesh

Flood is almost an annual affair in this country, occurring in one part or another. It is not always destructive. But when flood covers most of the country and lasts for days together, it causes a heavy loss of life and property. Terrible floods destroy the infrastructure of the country and thus destroy its economy.

Bangladesh has experienced some terrible floods within last three decades. The floods of 1988, 1998 and 2004 are remarkable mostly for their destructive nature. Almost the whole of the country went under water. They washed away standing crops, houses and killed a large number of people and cattle. Means of communications were seriously damaged. Normal activities stopped for a long time. The sorrows and sufferings of the people of the flood affected areas knew no bounds.

In Bangladesh, the most recent flood took place in 2004. The after-effects of that flood were very serious. The flood-affected people faced many problems. They were badly in need of food, clothes, shelter, pure drinking water, medical care and many other essentials of life. Cholera and other fatal diseases broke out in an epidemic form. The flood took heavy tolls of human lives. That flood damaged many vital roads and streets of the country. Everyday all the national dailies and periodicals brought out special reports on that flood. People living in the low lying areas were hit worst. The poor were especially victimized by that flood. The rich had some relatives to go to. But the poor had none to turn to. The people who were not affected by the flood sent food and clothes to the victims of flood. Foreign countries also sent food and money to the people suffering due to that flood.

Although there are many reasons leading to a flood, the country-wide flood of Bangladesh that took place in 2004 was mainly caused by the heartless decision by India to open up some gates of dams in their rivers. With the rivers entering the border of Bangladesh, water rushed into this country and caused a terrible flood.

The causes of floods in Bangladesh are many. The most common cause is excessive rainfall. During the monsoon, it rains heavily in Bangladesh. After a heavy rainfall rivers swell up rapidly, overflow the banks and submerge the country. Rivers also overflow due to the melting of the snow in the Himalayan range to the north of the country. Sometimes tidal waves also cause floods in the off-shore islands as well as in the southern parts of Bangladesh.

It is not wholly possible to prevent floods. But much can be done to lessen their damage and alleviate the sufferings of the people. Both short and long term plans should be taken to prevent floods and thus save the life and property of the people of our country.

To conclude, we can say that the development of our country is badly hampered by terrible floods that visit us almost every year. Floods cause huge loss of life and deal a severe blow to the national economy of our country. So effective measures should be taken to identity the causes of floods and then prevent them as much as possible. Steps should also be taken to lessen the sufferings of the people affected by floods.