Floods in Brazil – poverty makes people more vulnerable
Torrential rain in Brazil recently led to the country’s worst ever recorded natural disaster with at least 750 people killed by the resulting floods and landslides. This national calamity hit the international news headlines at the same time that Sri Lanka was reeling from the impact of widespread flooding.
Poverty, vulnerability and disasters are linked – it is most often the poorest that are worst affected and suffer most. This was clearly visible in the Brazil landslides where it was the low income settlements built on marginal lands – in particular the steep upper slopes of hills surrounding some urban centres – that suffered most from the landslides triggered by the rain. It is their poverty that makes them more vulnerable in the first place (in this case the only place they have to build their homes is on land that is fundamentally unstable). And their capacity to cope with disasters and recover from the effects are constrained by their lack of resources – there is no insurance company to turn to for most of those effected by the recent events in Sri Lanka and Brazil; no savings put aside for that ‘rainy day’.
Disasters rob the poor of their meagre possessions, their homes and livestock and most importantly, their livelihoods. But it doesn’t have to be so. There are plenty of examples of droughts, floods and even earthquakes that have impacted on people’s lives and livelihoods without being deemed a disaster, when those people were sufficiently prepared and had the capacity to cope and recover quickly.
The Brazilian government is reported to be considering investing in a high tech radar system for detecting approaching storms in the future and allowing for early warnings to be given to those who are vulnerable. Certainly early warning systems can make a huge difference in reducing vulnerability, as the experience of Bangladesh’s system of cyclone early warning system, combined with a network of robust cyclone shelters that people can go to when the warning sounds, has shown. The technology behind early warning systems doesn’t always have to be that sophisticated either.
Practical Action has worked with local communities in the southern Terai area of Nepal, which is susceptible to flash flooding from rivers coming out of the Himalayas in the monsoon. Using mobile phones to link people a few miles up in the hills to those down on the Terai plains is often sufficient to allow a warning to be passed on in time for people downstream to be alerted to rising waters heading their way. Combined with pre-rehearsed emergency procedures this sort of approach can save not just lives but also give people time to move their most precious possessions to high ground and safety. That means, when the flood passes, they still have the sewing machine, rickshaw, agricultural tools or animals so vital to ensuring they can continue to maintain their livelihoods and recover.
Early warning, whilst important, is not sufficient to eliminate needless deaths and losses from natural disasters. In some cases, such as earthquakes, providing an early warning is often very difficult. And, in the case of the Brazil floods, even though having early warning would have reduced the death toll, it would not have reduced the loss to property and infrastructure caused by the landslides. This is where standards play such an important role. Urban planning processes tend to ignore the needs of the poor. Indeed ‘informal’ urban settlements in many countries are often deemed not to ‘officially’ exist, despite the fact that they may house the majority of a city’s population and be the source of its factory workers, cab drivers, market traders and junior civil servants. Not officially existing, leads to not being included in municipal plans and not being provided with safe and regulated building space. As a result, the urban poor are squeezed into settlement in land that is marginal and unsafe, like the steep Brazilian hillsides that suffered so badly two weeks ago. However politically difficult it may appear, planning processes and standards need to accommodate the needs of the poor if these sort of disasters are to be avoided in the future, allowing them to be incorporated safely in urban development rather than exiled to the margins. And what about those unpredictable disasters such as earthquakes? Well, with a little bit of careful design, as Practical Action has shown time and again in Peru, it is possible to provide affordable housing that is resistant to earthquakes. But again, those design approaches need to be enforced in building standards if the benefit they offer is to be widely available.
We will never be able to avoid natural disasters. But there is plenty of evidence to suggest that, with some planning and forethought, their impact on everyone, the poor included, does not itself have to be devastating.
No Comments » | Add your commentSri Lanka floods
The situation in Sri Lanka is very worrying. A few years ago, flooding affecting 300,000 people might have captured the headlines, but these days it feels like this is just business as usual. I had the impression that the reports on Sri Lanka tended to get coverage only because it was one of three countries (Australia, Brazil, and Sri Lanka) all badly affected by exceptional rains.
On the ground of course, whether you’re part of a group of 300 or 300,000 people affected, it can be a truly devastating experience. I have spent time in flooded areas of Bangladesh, and India before now, and the way people cope can be quite amazing.
Practical Action has been working in Kathiravely and Kalmadu where some 150 families are still living in relief camps set up and run by the Government, unable to return home yet. We’re not a relief agency, and are not set up with the kind of logistical capacities to buy and distribute the large amounts of food, blankets, soap and cleaning items that people need today. However, a number of our partners are engaged and we’re helping them where we can.
Soon we will be turning our heads to the task of rebuilding water tanks and flood bunds, and here I am hopeful we can ensure people are aware of the techniques we’ve developed, so structures will be able to withstand future flooding when it occurs. Unfortunately, it does seem that it’s a question of when, not if.
Flood resistant incomes in Bangladesh *UPDATE*
Paul Smith Lomas, Practical Action’s International Director, updates us on his recent trip to Bangladesh and the inspirational people he met whilst visiting our Shiree project:
From our base in Rangpur, I made my way north, through a lush landscape of swaying palm trees, wide lagoons and majestic rivers. It seemed idyllic. But behind this beauty lies a harsh and seemingly perpetual struggle for thousands of vulnerable families who do not have the means to earn a living. Through our ‘Shiree’ project we are endeavouring to reach out to some of the poorest people in Bangladesh – the most marginalized women, men and children who have nowhere else to turn.
One of these people is Labonya. Labonya is a widow, and lives on a sandbank, with not land of her own and no way of earning a reliable income. Last year we showed her how to grow pumpkins on the sandy river banks, an ancient technique that Practical Action has helped to develop into something that can be used today. From this, she harvested over 600 pumpkins! The vast crop provided Labonya’s family with nutritious food during the lean season, and surplus produce to sell at market. With her profits Labonya purchased two goats and their young kids, which she now hopes to breed. When I met her, she had several pumpkins left and was planning to use their seeds to cultivate even more next year. Perhaps the most exciting part of all this was how inspired and motivated Labonya was. She now believes she will be able to move out of her poverty and transform her life.
Not everyone in this project is growing pumpkins. Crucially, we give people fifteen different livelihood options and everyone can choose the most appropriate solution according to individual circumstances. Regardless of the choice though, we deliver sufficient training and source the initial supplies to give people a good start on the path out of poverty.
Amodita was another of the many courageous and resourceful women who inspired me. She has been made homeless by relentless flooding eight times. When the rains descend she is forced to search desperately for a new place to live. For many months last year she only had enough food to feed her family for one meal a day, and resorted to begging in order to survive. Thanks to our ‘Shiree’ project, we have trained Amodita in duck rearing. Now she is selling eggs in the market each week, and can earn enough money to buy food to feed her children!
There are tens of thousands, of people like Amodita and Labonya, each with their own story to tell. We are committed to helping even more people next year. As Nazmul, the local Practical Action Project Manager explained to me, ‘It’s simply a matter of money’. We have proven ways in which people can break out of poverty; we just need the money to make a difference.
If you want your money to make that difference in Bangladesh and other countries, please visit our donation page.
No Comments » | Add your commentFlood resistant incomes in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, flooding is an annual event, not something that happens occasionally, as it does in many parts of the world. In a normal year almost 20% of the country will be underwater. In a bad year, more than half the country might be flooded.
Many people live in places which will definitely flood in the next year, or two. They simply don’t have the choice to move somewhere else, and if they own no land, they usually have to rely on income as a daily labourer on someone else’s farm. Wages can be extremely low, and during some parts of the year, there may be no work at all. This can leave people in a trap of extreme poverty, which it’s almost impossible to break out of.
Working with groups of extremely poor people, Practical Action, have helped to identify a number of ways in which, with a small amount of training, and initial investment, even people with no access to land, can earn a living
Some of them, like rearing cattle, are not new but we are helping producer groups, for example a group of women in Sirajgong, to learn best practice in animal husbandry; build low cost cattle shelters; and negotiate better prices to help them maximize income. Others are new ideas, or clever adaptations of existing ideas, like rearing fish in cages which can be kept in common waters; or growing pumpkins on the sandy flood plains, or growing vegetables on floating gardens, built out of water hyacinth & bamboo.
There isn’t one simple answer to give everyone living in the flood plains a flood resistant income, but in each of these stories, Practical Action is proving that there are viable options. We just need to spend time thinking about what people do have, and what they can do, rather than what they don’t, and can’t.
No Comments » | Add your commentPakistan – reconstruction after the floods
Practical Action has compiled a list of its publications and other resources to help local and international agencies. Please do not hesitate to ask our Technical Information Service if you need further elaboration on any of these.
Resources on post-disaster reconstruction from Practical Answers
Please also visit Duryog Nivaran for further news, publications and regional resources.
1 Comment » | Add your commentPakistan floods: so who is there to help?
As of today more than 20 million people are reported to be displaced by the floods in Pakistan. International and national efforts are reaching no more than 2 million people of those who were displaced. So, how are the remaining 18 million people being looked after?
Practical Action, in our climate adaptation advocacy work, emphasise Community Based Adaptation (CBA). Since most natural disasters hit without much warning, their scale is large and the damage is serious – you can only address the problem to a limit. Many principles of good development – participation, accountability etc, may not work in such a situation.
The physical infrastructure required to stop such floods is clearly beyond the reach of Pakistan government. So, the best approach to reduce the impact of disaster is to build people’s resilience, support their organisation and appreciate their efforts to help themselves and others. This is very evident in case of Pakistan floods where 90% of those who were displaced are being looked after by their relatives, friends and others. This is also strong evidence of the presence of a core economy or co-production, which some of the high income countries are trying to promote. So, why don’t international development programmes to address climate impact build on such a strong capital – the capital of people to help each other?
Flood evacuation in Sukkur. Photo: Reuters/Akhtar Soomro, courtesy www.alertnet.org
1 Comment » | Add your commentIt is raining in Nairobi. Are we all enjoying?
The time now is 21:00 hours, Saturday 27th of February, 2010. It has been raining for almost three hours. Rains in Nairobi are always awaited and welcomed, as it improves the water sources, wash the roads and polish the green and tall trees. A number of people, including me, are watching this beautiful rain from shades. Rain dropping on the hotel swimming pool and its lovely lights presents a lovely view.
However, for some reasons my mind is restricting me to enjoy this, it is taking me to those places where rain is an emergency and almost a mini disaster. This is almost half of the population of Nairobi, who live in slum areas. A total of 2.4 million people live in high-density slums, very close to each other, in areas where houses are made-up of temporary materials, tin roofs have holes in them, alleys are not more than 1m wide and electricity disappears after few drops of rain. A number of these areas are besides rivers and ponds, which overflow quickly, causing damage to houses and sometimes loss of lives. I am just wondering if everybody in Nairobi is enjoying the rain?
Is it good to feel this rain in different ways?
Mansoor Ali
In Nairobi
Fact: Currently more than 150 million in Africa live in slum areas in very poor conditions, without drainage, no clean water, poor sanitation, no electricity and no waste collection. Thousands of young professionals, such as architects, engineers and planners around the world are thinking, researching, writing and doing something to address this challenge. Practical Action, is always keen to listen from you what you feel and what you intend to do.
No Comments » | Add your commentWorking again after 30 days
One of the people I met yesterday – Shahana is hoping that the good days are coming again. After thirty days without work, her husband, a casual farm worker, had gone to work that morning. For his efforts he will be paid 80tka which they can spend on food, or paying off the tab they have run up with the local shop during the lean period.
But Shahana isn’t complaining. In fact she is very happy, because for the first time in her life she has a secure place to live. Shahana is one of the people living in a special “cluster village” built by Practical Action to help people survive the annual flood disaster. This village, known as Salabhora, is just ten houses made out of tin, built on a special embankment which means they will be protected from the rising waters. There are two wells that they use to get clean water and there is one toilet for every two houses.
Shahana moved to the village when it opened 8 months ago. She was chosen by her peers in the local community, because she had no where secure to live with her husband and young baby, and because her husband has some mental health problems. She said that the best thing about the new village is that it gives her security, this means that her husband can travel further for work without having to worry about her because the villagers all look after each other.
It was great to end my last trip into the field with such a positive story. Although I have to say the peace of the village was very much shattered as we were leaving by the arrival of the Bangladeshi equivalent of an ice cream van. This bicycle has a cool box strapped to the back, and a loud speaker on the front playing Bangla music as loud as possible to attract the children. The white ice lollies which appeared cost only half a taka (slightly less than half a penny) and so are accessible to nearly everyone. Shahana’s baby isn’t old enough to appreciate ice cream yet … but it won’t be long.
No Comments » | Add your comment