Health Risks through Flooding and Coping Strategies for Citizens of Dhaka

Abstract

This article is a literature review about the challenges and countermeasures for Dhaka’s citizens, who are most vulnerable to flooding and climate change. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is a fast growing city and it has a large proportion of poor citizens. Cyclones or terrestrial rainfall hits Bangladesh regularly. Concerning climate change, weather events will intensify and cause more casualties. Millions of people get displaced or die in floods and their health is under great risk of epidemics. Traditional countermeasures are changes in the built environment but this alone is not enough to secure the livelihood. Especially for the urban poor more soft measures are needed. Measures like education, warning systems and micro-insurances will play a dominant role in the future against the challenge of climate change.