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Editorial

Bangladesh sets example in managing disasters

Need more concerted efforts to tackle catastrophes


Bangladeshpost
Published : 24 Sep 2020 09:16 PM | Updated : 25 Sep 2020 01:14 AM

Intense natural disasters have been a part of our lives for millennia. The world has experienced numerous natural calamities over the years and with climate change across the globe, the natural disasters seem to be getting severer.

Against such a backdrop, Bangladesh has advanced quite a lot in disaster preparedness. Over the years, the country has earned a good reputation as well as international recognition for efficient management of disasters. It has become a role model for others in managing disaster situations of varied nature. 

As part of disaster preparedness, Bangladesh is making huge investments in building disaster-resilient infrastructure such as cyclone and flood shelters. As a climate-vulnerable country with recurring disasters, over the years, Bangladesh has learnt the critical importance of disaster preparedness, community engagement and institutional capacity building. 

Despite its limited capabilities, the country has taken many initiatives to address climate change and spent a lot of money from its own funds. However, still we need to do a lot more to take our disaster preparedness to a higher level.


Preparedness for disasters along with effective  

prevention and mitigation measures are imperative 

for  sustainable  development  of the country


As the nature of disasters is changing, we need to find innovative solutions to effectively tackle calamities. It is not always possible to predict a disaster but if we take adequate preparation we can certainly minimise loss and damage caused by a disaster.

Disaster management system of the country needs further development. It requires more focused initiatives for increasing the capacity of the authorities concerned, including both public and private agencies. Our country is currently lacking resources to stand against natural disasters but with proper implementation of new technologies, we can save lives and reduce the negative impact of disasters. Moreover, a higher number of education and training programmes in disaster-prone areas should be carried out in order to develop professionalism in disaster management system. 

Also, we need to invest more in creating awareness among general people about disaster preparedness. We should effectively utilise local knowledge about disaster management and disseminate it to a wider audience. It is high time to develop our disaster management capacity to cope with the changing nature of disasters. As disaster management is a holistic process, we urge all stakeholders and authorities concerned to provide concerted efforts to tackle catastrophes.