A Rapid Overview: The Resiliency of Rural Households after Flood 2020 Amidst Pandemic COVID-19 in Bangladesh

Abstract

The mini study was conducted after the flood 2020 to observe the household level resiliency of extreme poor at most flood prone rural areas in Bangladesh. Primary data was collected from extreme poor households who are participants government’s social safety net programme “Employment Generation Programme for the Poorest (EGPP)”. Those households are located at flood prone areas of Bangladesh, The National Resilience Programme (NRP) is also working there in limited scale.

Bangladesh is a low-lying nation highly exposed to the threat of repeated floods, due to the country being susceptible to receiving monsoon rains between June and October each year. During the monsoon flood 2020, 1.5 million people was affected by flooding, and a third of the country’s districts have been affected by flooding. Data was collected between November and December of 2020 for the mini-survey.

The mini survey finds that the respondent households are bounce back to normal life after flood 2020 from analysis of primary data and interpretation. But this recovery it is not bounce back better or worse. It can be said that household level resilience has increased for short term. In this study resilience level has assessed based on how rural households cope with and overcome recurrent disaster like flood in 2020. The study looked at livelihood, income, place of residence, types of houses, household assets, land ownership, access to information on flood warning messages, internal displacement, loss & damages, recovery mechanism of losses, access to cash savings & loan and their perception about recent flood 2020 and resiliency over flood.

Findings of the study shows that, engagement in agriculture is low because those sampled households are extreme poor and have no cultivable land and very few percentages of household heads are engaged in off-firm based professions.

Evidence shows that almost of half of respondents, 46.67% households have increased their income immediate after received training and input support on Income Generating Activates (IGA). Those households who have incremental earnings, can earn additional money BDT 250 to BDT 2000 beside their main income.

It is noticeable findings that 93.33% of respondents have been informed early warning before flood 2020 from Union Parishad and NGOs. The respondents also experienced price hike in commodity market during flood 2020.79.63% said that the flood 2020 amidst COVID-19 have affected their income, their income had reduced. Few numbers of respondents (11.67%) said that they sold asset because of disasters. Respondents who have sold assets, all of them said that they sold livestock for their recovery. Flood 2020 affected respondents’ households informed that had managed cost of house repair and maintenance from their own daily income.

Good percentage of respondents said that they have access to finance, which is helpful for recovery after disasters. The survey finds that only 26.67% of respondents have cash savings. Survey findings showed that 43.33% respondents have taken loan at normal time or after disaster. Only 03.33% respondents are living on government sites, those are landless people or internally displaced because of river erosion.

In conclusion, from the primary data analysis, we can say that Flood 2020 affected households have recovered for short term by their own and some of institutional resources. The recovery, resilient capacity can be increased through skill and knowledge transfer for alternative livelihood options considering disaster risks.