A flood in Bangladesh that put 1/3 of its country underwater and how we can help
Often, I share the coach with people of multiple races. Amongst them, are our Bangladeshi brothers and sisters. We are aware that many toil day and night to send money back home. However, 1/3 of their motherland is currently facing a cruel disaster amid a pandemic.
They left their motherland only to build houses for us, it only feels like it is our responsibility to help save theirs from going underwater.
There has been a massive flood in Bangladesh since June affecting over 4.7 million people. As most of us are quarantining safely in our homes, millions of citizens like Kohinur Begum have lost their homes and are left to the streets with water reaching hip-level, all whilst fighting a pandemic.
The flood has claimed over 217 lives and infected over 50,000 others with water-borne diseases. The monsoon rain which worsened the situation is only expected to dip in September and the government has yet to take any drastic measures to aid the climate crisis.
As of right now, millions of Bangladeshis need aid, and with almost a quarter-million Covid-19 cases, this is what we can do to help the flood victims.
Short-term
PennyAppeal is currently collecting donations to aid with supplies of food and shelter. This could drastically improve the living conditions of the people who have lost everything but their lives.
GlobalGiving provides links to the other donation options related to the flood in Bangladesh.
Sharing this article or any related articles about the flood to raise awareness of the situation will aid more organizations to get involved.
Long-term
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) also allows you to donate any amount that will help further investigate the environmental degradation to which will help better strategize against the future climate crisis and potentially save millions of lives in the long run.
As climate change is a contributing factor to natural disasters, any action towards preserving the environment is an indirect help towards not only Bangladesh but the rest of the world.
If you are interested to understand more about the land of Bangladesh and the floods, I go on to discuss the geographical aspects of the land and the threats it could face in the nearing future.
2/3 of Bangladesh’s land is less than 5 meters above sea level and it has made concomitant flooding a predominant feature of the land. You may be wondering how the country has survived and even populated the land despite its climate risks for over a millennium. Adaptive would be a powerful adjective to use on the citizens of Bangladesh.
Through lands that share the duality of agriculture and aquaculture depending on the season is a mere start of the ways the communities have learned to deal with the uncertainty of the climate.
Jonathan Gilligan, who is an Associate Professor of Earth & Environmental Science at Vanderbilt University, found that the secret to why Bangladesh has not gone underwater despite the rising sea levels is due to the sediment discharge that flows from the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers causing the land to rise at the same rate of the natural sea rise.
However, due to the human contribution to the sea rise (rising too quick) and the embankments built (preventing sediments to discharge) to prevent food shortages, this may spark a disruption in the natural balance of the land and sea causing floods and possibly the risk of Bangladesh going underwater.
We all play a role to help save this earth before it is too late. Bangladesh’s climate crisis is just one of the struggles the world faces and each life claimed by the floods is a scream for help that needs our attention. A first step will be in educating ourselves, whether it be a Netflix documentary called Our Planet, reading up on WWF, or even turning off the tap when brushing your teeth.
This is our home, it is about time we treat it right.
