Reducing Risk and Saving Lives through Disaster Risk Reduction: Bangladesh and Myanmar

Cyclone simulation exercise in Bangladesh. This simulation helped prepare communities before Cyclone Sidr struck in 2007. Photo credit: Kelley Lynch

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In 2007 and 2008, two major storms of similar magnitude struck Asia. Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh on November 15, 2007 and Cyclone Nargis made landfall in Myanmar on May 2, 2008. Despite the storms’ similarity in strength — each had winds of up to 120 mph and large storm surges, the humanitarian impact of the two events were dramatically different.

In Bangladesh, 3,400 persons were reported dead or missing. In Myanmar, the official death toll reported in the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment was 84,537, with 53,836 people missing — making the cyclone the worst-ever natural disaster in Myanmar.

The difference in the loss of life can be attributed in part to investments in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) — activities conducted by a village, community, government or non-governmental organization (NGO) that helps prepare for, reduce the impact of, or prevent disasters.

In Bangladesh, a recurring history of large natural disasters drove investments in disaster preparedness activities over two decades. In contrast, Cyclone Nargis exposed the vulnerability of communities that were largely unprepared to withstand the storm.

Save the Children’s commitment to DRR within countries at high risk of natural disaster helped to prevent a much higher death toll in the aftermath of Cyclone Sidr in 2007:

• Our DRR activities in Bangladesh prior to Cyclone Sidr included ‘cyclone simulations’ in communities in the southern region that each involved some 10,000 children and adults. We supported a national cyclone preparedness program consisting of disaster management committees and community-level risk assessment and mitigation plans. As part of this work, we provided training to disaster committee members and volunteers in managing logistics, rapid needs assessments, children’s rights and child tracing.
• We have helped conduct mass communication campaigns on heeding early warning signals when disasters threaten, and preparedness activities at home, such as protecting household assets and evacuations.
• We conduct staff trainings and simulations, pre-position essential relief supplies for rapid distribution, develop operational plans and maintain links with local and national government counterparts.

In Myanmar, Save the Children has incorporated DRR activities into its long-term recovery work for children and families affected by Cyclone Nargis. We have targeted over 100 schools for structural improvements that will not only ensure that they are better able to withstand future storms, but will also provide a shelter in many villages for the whole community in the event of a storm. We also initiated a Disaster Response and Resilience Learning Project with the goal of providing hundreds of staff from other organizations working in Myanmar with concepts and principles related to disaster response and preparedness.

At the global level, Save the Children continues to pioneer other child-centered DRR initiatives. Our programs seek to ensure that the needs of children are considered in how communities prepare for, react to and recover from disasters. And we work to make this happen at all levels — with children, in communities, with national governments and in international organizations.