One natural disaster after another: How our agriculture, life are impacted

As the southern and southeastern regions of Bangladesh struggle to recover from two consecutive floods, the coastal areas are now bracing for the impact of Cyclone Dana.

This rapid succession of natural disasters has placed the production of all crops, including rice, vegetables, and early potatoes, under severe threat.

Cyclone Dana started to make landfall on the Odisha coast of India around 10pm yesterday. Its effects may cause tidal surges in 14 coastal districts of Bangladesh and bring heavy rainfall to other areas of the country. These rains could continue until 26 October. 

If heavy rain lasts for two to three days, there is a serious risk of significant losses for Aman rice and various types of vegetables in the fields.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) advised all maritime ports to raise local cautionary signal number three.

The BMD also warned that, due to the storm, heavy (44-88mm) to very heavy (>89mm) rainfall and gusty winds may occur in the North Bay, offshore islands, chars, and coastal areas of Bangladesh. 

The maximum sustained wind speed near the centre of the cyclone is about 90kph, with gusts potentially reaching 110kph. The sea will remain rough near the storm's centre.

Due to the storm and steep pressure changes, low-lying areas in coastal districts as well as their offshore islands and chars, are likely to experience flooding from a wind-driven surge of 2-3ft above normal tide levels.

According to agricultural officials, the cultivation of winter vegetables has already been delayed in many areas due to two consecutive floods. There are concerns for the crops that have already been planted if heavy rains continue. 

These rains will also further delay the planting for those who plan to grow vegetables. Additionally, early potato cultivation in the Rangpur division is at significant risk.

Aman rice cultivation in the coastal regions is also facing threats. The storm and heavy rains could cause serious damage to Aman rice production in these areas.

Yesterday, Khepupara recorded the highest rainfall at 98mm, followed by Barishal at 63mm, Patuakhali at 73mm, Cumilla at 48mm, Madaripur at 44mm, and Dhaka at 16mm over 24 hours.

BMD meteorologist Abul Kalam Mallik told TBS, "Bangladesh is no longer under threat from Cyclone Dana, but its effects have brought heavy rain to coastal areas and other parts of the country today (yesterday). 

"The cyclone may also cause wind-driven surges in the coastal regions, resulting in higher tides than usual. This rain is expected to continue until Friday and should start to decrease on Saturday."

Meanwhile, a report from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that the floods in August have destroyed Aman rice cultivation in 13 districts. This has led to a loss of about 11 lakh tonnes of Aus and Aman rice production. The two phases of flooding have caused an average crop production loss of around 14.5%.

As a result, the price of rice in the market has risen by at least Tk7 in several cases, leading the government to plan for imports to address the issue. The government has already reduced import duties for both government and private imports.

According to a notification from the National Board of Revenue, the import duty on rice has been cut from 25% to 15%. The regulatory duty has been reduced from 25% to 5%, and the 5% advance tax has been completely removed. This will save at least Tk14.40 per kilogram of imported rice.

Furthermore, the two phases of flooding have caused a loss of 2 lakh tonnes of vegetable production, making most vegetables in the market unaffordable. To tackle this problem, the government has launched a programme to sell vegetables at lower prices in Dhaka.

According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), 38% of low-income households in the country experienced food insecurity last August. Additionally, 43% of poor families are borrowing money to buy food. The sharp rise in prices for rice, vegetables, and other food items is a major reason for this problem.

Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, told TBS, "We have instructed all agriculture department officials to stay alert. There is always a chance of some losses during disasters. However, we are ready to act quickly to recover from any damage caused by Dana." 

How was this year's natural disaster?

In the first week of October, several upazilas in Sherpur district, along with areas in Mymensingh district experienced severe flooding due to heavy rainfall and hilly floods.

The heavy rain began on 3 October, causing water levels in Sherpur to rise starting early on 4 October. Over 200 villages in Sherpur and Mymensingh were flooded, and it took more than three days for the water to fully recede.

Previously, flooding began in Feni at noon on 20 August. The situation worsened the next day. The residents of Feni faced a severe humanitarian crisis.

The flood spread beyond Feni to nearby districts like Cumilla, Noakhali, and Lakshmipur. This year's flooding in Feni is the worst Bangladesh has ever seen. In some areas, people were trapped for over a month due to rising waters.

On 29 May, upstream flooding hit the border upazilas of Sylhet. Although water levels dropped slightly two days later, heavy rain and mountain floods led to sudden flooding in seven upazilas of Sylhet starting 1 June. 

This situation continued until 20 June, affecting at least 21 of the 42 wards in Sylhet City Corporation and 102 out of 111 unions in 13 upazilas, impacting around 7 lakh people.

A third wave of flooding began in Sylhet on 2 July. The suffering of trapped residents increased as more areas of the 13 upazilas were flooded. The upazilas near the Indian border were particularly hard hit by rising river water from India. 

On 25 May, a powerful cyclone named Remal hit the coastal areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal. It made landfall between the evening of 26 May and the morning of 27 May, with wind speeds between 90-115kph. This resulted in the deaths of 76 people in Bangladesh and India.

The cyclone forced nearly 8 lakh people to evacuate their homes and find shelter in emergency centres. A storm surge of 5-8ft caused severe flooding, breaking embankments and submerging large coastal areas. 

About 2.7 crore people in the coastal regions lost power, and 27,000 mobile network towers stopped working. The cyclone impacted approximately 37.58 lakh people across 107 upazilas in 19 coastal districts. Around 35,000 homes were completely destroyed, while 115,000 homes suffered partial damage.