Case Study of Bangladesh Floods 2004
Physical Causes of the Flood
- Located on the Ganges Delta - with hundreds of tributaries joining it.
- Average rainfall before the flood was 300mm per day
- Bangladesh has a monsoon climate - leading to a rainy summer caused by the land being warmer than the sea creating a low pressure
- This low pressure causes moist / wet air to drift over Bangladesh and so heavy rainfall follow
- 80% of Bangladesh is low – lying and so is vulnerable (with 25% being only 1m above sea level) and 50% being below 6m
Human Causes of the Flood
- Heavy deforestation especially in the Himalayas reducing interception of rainwater
- Being densely populated the floodplains were built on, with further deforestation
- High volume of snow melt from the Himalayas