A Tornado for the Textile Industry: Natural Risks and Mitigation Strategies for Bangladesh

Primary Analyst: Sigma Khan

Bangladesh is an extremely vulnerable country in terms of natural risks and hazards. It is a low-lying deltaic country covering an area of 147,470 square kilometres and supporting about 150 million people with a population density of 1033 per square kilometre. Due to the geographical features, climate patterns and negative consequences of climate change, the country is susceptible to multiple geo-hazards and hydro-meteorological hazards. The major disaster concerns in the country are: floods, cyclones, droughts, tidal surges, tornadoes, earthquakes, river erosion, fire, infrastructure collapse, high arsenic levels in ground water, water logging, water and soil salinity, epidemics, and various forms of pollution.

A 2013 disaster report issued by the government of Bangladesh details that in 2013 alone, the country faced three catastrophic-in-nature natural disasters: The Cyclone Mahasen, the Tornado of Brahmanbaria, and the infrastructure collapse of the Rana Plaza. The government has stated that the amount of voluntarism has been an enormous positive factor in overcoming these natural risks and hazards.

In regards to the textile industry, investing and business growth in such a meteorological-risk prone state is precarious, as natural disasters result in displacement and a lack of basic needs such as shelter and poor agriculture growth seasons. Further, the 2013 infrastructure collapse of the Rana Plaza had a direct impact as the plaza was home to a textile and garment factory. These hazards affect the people behind the growing industry, therefore they pose as an investment risk for the industry itself. The government must find a better way to be prepared and deal with the aftermath of natural disasters in order to mitigate risks for the citizens and in turn, for a growing industry.

Some mitigation strategies both governments and citizens can do to minimize the damage in the aftermath of non-preventable natural risks and hazards include:

  • Protection of societal institutions such as schools, cultural properties, and hospitals to reduce displacement and ensure the victims of natural disasters have access to health care.
  • Adoption of non-structural measures through ensuring businesses and homes are hazard proofed eg. securing furniture and equipment or management of vegetation to lessen damage from wildfires.
  • Incorporating mitigation into new development by taking steps to design and build all infrastructure properly to avoid collapse, learning from the Rana Plaza incident. The government can enforce this through enforcing minimum specifications for design and construction. Currently, Bangladesh’s infrastructure is governed by the BNBC (Bangladesh National Building Code) which is a legally binding document that sets standards for certain design, construction, alteration, moving, demolition or repair of buildings and structures. While the BNBC has multiple sections, the overall document highlights that all buildings have a uniform start of practice in planning, design, and construction and have standards for electrical, mechanical, and sanitary services. The buildings must be built to specified expectations depending on occupancy, density, and height. The building code is similar to those of developed countries such as Canada and has all the necessary sections to be an exemplary document that ensures infrastructure is safe from natural hazards. However, the problem lies in lack of regular supervision of officials to implement the legislation, insufficient number of building inspectors and absence of database management systems. Therefore, a mitigation strategy to protect against natural hazards that affect infrastructure is to appropriately enforce the legislation that Bangladesh has drafted.
  • Protecting natural resources by taking steps to identify and protect wildlife, fish or plants central to the lifestyle of the state.
  • Government leadership of mitigation implementation.
  • Mitigation training to those in professions central to reducing natural disaster damage such as farmers, healthcare professions, construction workers, and architects.
  • Implementing policies based on research specific to environmental hazards.

Obstacles to adopt such mitigation strategies by a country suffering from extreme poverty and lack of development are inevitable, however, correct organization by the government or international pressure from IGOs/NGOs can result in Bangladesh being able to overcome the damage from natural risks.