Abstract:
As a first step in disaster mitigation, this study aims to identify and evaluate the natural
hazards in Bangladesh. The major hazards namely earthquake, flood, cyclone and tornado of
Bangladesh were studied. This includes study of geological, topographical, hydrological and
seismo tectonic setup in Bangladesh, probable major hazard sources, existing hazard zoning
maps etc. A detailed disaster database including damage data of earthquake, flood, cyclone
and tornado was compiled. These data were collected from various sources. Different
intensity scales for these disasters were also reviewed. The collected damage data, damage
scenario and models were used to develop and propose intensity scales for earthquake, flood,
cyclone and tornado for Bangladesh.
Total risks for earthquake, flood, cyclone and tornado with the variables of those natural
hazards occurrence, were estimated for different areas of Bangladesh. A new district wise
tornado hazard zoning map was proposed based on the frequency of occurrence. The
digitized maps of earthquake, cyclone, tornado and flood hazards were presented in this study
as Vulnerability Risk Areas of Bangladesh, wherein the risk score was tabulated for different
districts of Bangladesh. Based on estimated risk score of earthquake, cyclone, tornado and
flood hazards a multi-hazard map of Bangladesh was proposed.
The housing types of Bangladesh were categorized based on Bureau of Statistics data. The
housing vulnerability table for each district was prepared based on risk of damage for
different housing types. At a glance the tables will show the percent areas of the district most
susceptible to earthquake, cyclone, tornado and flood hazards for different housing
categories.
