Analysis of urban flooding and its impact on gender in a slum of Dhaka city

Abstract

Urban flooding is a frequent disaster during monsoon period (June-October), hindering the daily lives of city dwellers, especially of slum dwellers. This study assessed the urban flooding extent and its impact on the lives of slum dwellers, especially upon women. The selected study areas are Baunia khal and a slum situated alongside the khal, the Baganbari slum. The study has been conducted following interdisciplinary approaches considering techno-socio gender perspectives. The technical part of the thesis includes the analysis of the extent of urban flooding in and around the Baganbari slum and the development of Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves with return intervals of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100- years for a 3-hour duration rainfall using the Gumbel method. The areal changes of the khal from 2004 to 2020 are analyzed applying satellite images. The area of the khal is found 7 km2 in 2004 which turned into 0.41 km2 in 2020. The runoff coefficient of the study area is found as 0.76 from the analysis of present land use pattern, slope and hydrologic soil type. The peak runoff, generated from the catchment, is found to be 66.54 m3/min that flows through the Baunia Khal. Flood areal extent is analyzed using Sentinel-1B image through SNAP and ArcGIS tools and 34.09% of Baganbari slum is found flooded on 21st July, 2020. Runoffs are also estimated using the rainfall intensity with return periods of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100- years and a heightened extent of the urban flooding has been obtained. The impacts of urban flooding on gender are assessed using Moser Analytical tools - Moser triple roles, gender needs assessment, access and control profile. They are used for both men and women during flooding and non-flooding periods for understanding the impact of urban flooding on gender. Urban flooding has significant impacts upon gender. The majority of women of the slum are found to be involved in “double day” roles (100% in reproductive and 72% in productive roles). 92% men are found to have no contribution in reproductive roles and unaware to know its impact due to flooding. Moreover, women’s participation in community roles are totally affected due to urban flooding (almost 100%) as flooding imposes compulsion for them to stay in home and carry out the reproductive works. Among practical needs, food supply, diseases, menstrual health, sanitation and mobility of women are disrupted during urban flooding, especially for women aged between 20 to 29 years. Likewise, the strategic needs, such as, food preservation, entertainment, and decision making needs are found not to be met for women who are aged between 30 to 39 years. Women in Baganbari slum are found to have only 35% access and 6% control over resources, benefits, health facilities and decision making power during urban flooding. The significant decline in access and control profile of women during urban flooding aggregates their difficulties and drives into vulnerable position in their own households. For mitigating the sufferings of gender groups, improved measures are proposed found from the FGDs, carried out with the slum dwellers. The measures include control structure for flood protection, proper maintenance of Baunia khal like prohibition of dumping of any material, deepening of its depth, improved sanitation system, upgrading water quality and supply system, construction of health care services and education facilities for gender inside the slum. The measures are intended to empower the gender groups and mitigate their sufferings through different programs in the Baganbari slum.