Why we should prepare for landslides ahead of time

Bangladesh is a country prone to a number of natural disasters. It is affected by numerous disasters such as cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, lightning strikes, and river erosion, because of its unique hydrological and geomorphological realities. 

Located at the bottom of the GBM (the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna) basin and bounded by the Bay of Bengal to its south, the country is highly susceptible to multiple hazards.

To reduce death tolls and economic loss, the Bangladesh government must evolve from reactive humanitarian disaster management approaches to anticipatory action.

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Landslides have become a recent phenomenon in the southeastern part of Bangladesh. Landslides occur in hilly terrain regions of the country due to torrential monsoon rainfall between June and September, as well as anthropogenic activities across the slopes.

This disaster was less noticeable in the region until June 2007, when a devastating incident in Chattogram took 129 lives. In 2012, landslides affected ten districts in the northern and southeastern parts, killing 139 people. In 2015, floods and landslides killed 19 people and caused further displacement.

The maximum number of deaths was reported in 2017 when massive landslides triggered by extreme rainfall in Rangamati, Bandarban, and Chattogram claimed 176 lives. 

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Anticipatory action (AA) serves as a bridge between disaster risk reduction, preparedness, and crisis response, saving lives and livelihoods, mitigating suffering, improving the effectiveness of response and recovery, and importantly, better preserving the dignity of communities.

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By using an early warning system, communities, especially governments, can see the window of opportunity to act ahead of crises and respond early to disasters.

AA also provides forecast-based action through which authorities can move inhabitants from hills to safe shelters before torrential rainfall occurs.

To build resilience, AA focuses on community-based disaster preparedness systems, which act from prior disaster to post-shock recovery. AA engages the community to build capacity on early warning systems and improve local management capability for infrastructure maintenance and operations, as well as contribute strategically to national policies.

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