Citizens place blame on India as flash floods ravage Bangladesh
Some suggest the floods were exacerbated after India opened it's dam gates
Originally published on Global Voices
Flash flood in Feni and Noakhali. Screenshot from a YouTube video by Bioscope Entertainment. Fair use.
Bangladesh is grappling with one of its worst floods in recent times, caused by heavy rainfall and an influx of water from India's Tripura state. Thousands have been displaced, and at least 18 people have lost their lives as on August 24. The flash flood has submerged entire villages and left residents in dire straits.
Over 5 million people in 12 districts have been affected by the flooding. More than 300,000 people remain in several thousand emergency shelters, requiring aid, housing and rehabilitation.
Floods in these districts are not uncommon. However, this time, the severity of the disaster has surpassed all previous floods. Residents of the flood-affected areas have said they have never seen such devastating floods in their lifetimes. In some places, the water has reached neck-deep levels, submerging homes and inundating entire communities.
Novelist Swakrit Noman's village home has also been flooded. He wrote on Facebook about the situation:
[…] বাড়িতে কারো সঙ্গে কোনো যোগাযোগ করতে পারছি না। বিদ্যুৎ নেই, নেট নেই। মায়ের সাথে শেষ কথা হয়েছিল পরশুদিন। তারপর যোগাযোগ বন্ধ।
স্বজনেরা বেঁচে আছে, না ভেসে গেছে জানি না। কোনোভাবে বেঁচে থাকলেও খেতে না পেয়ে অবস্থা সঙ্গীন হয়ে পড়বে। কারণ নলকূপ ডুবে গেছে, খাবার পানি নেই। চুলা ভেসে গেছে, রান্নার উপায় নেই। হয়ত ফুরিয়ে গেছে দোকানপাটের শুকনো খাবারও।
[…] I can't reach anyone at home. There's no electricity or internet. The last time I spoke to my mother was the day before yesterday. Since then, all communication has been cut off.
I don't know if my relatives are alive or if they've been swept away. Even if they are somehow alive, their condition will become critical if they don't have food. The tube well is submerged, so there's no drinking water. The stove has floated away, leaving no way to cook. The dry food in the shops may have run out as well.
Meanwhile, floodwaters have engulfed various parts of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, making it difficult to transport aid and supplies to victims. A user on X (formerly Twitter), named Shakhawat Hossain Ahad, wrote:
ঢাকা থেকে চট্টগ্রাম যাওয়ার পথে বিমান থেকে এই ছবিটি তোলা। দেখে মনে হচ্ছে পুরো এলাকাই পানির নীচে তলিয়ে আছে। অথচ কুমিল্লা বাংলাদেশের সবচেয়ে উঁচু জেলা। #বন্যা #বাংলাদেশ #sarwarsir #IndiaOut#FloodInBDForIndia #FloodInBDForIndia #Flooding #ShameOnIndia #BangladeshFlood2024 pic.twitter.com/BEpsZmNkif
— Shakhawat Hossain Ahad (@ahad1_rk) August 22, 2024
This picture was taken from a plane while traveling from Dhaka to Chittagong. It seems as though the entire area is submerged underwater. Yet, Comilla is the district in Bangladesh with the highest elevation above sea level.
Bangladesh, usually known as a “role model” for disaster management in the region, had little warning and preparation for the ongoing floods. After the forced resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, the local government collapsed and many of the usual preparation and relief efforts led by the local government and volunteers failed to materialize.
India blamed for catastrophic floods
Bangladeshi social media users have alleged that India is responsible for the sudden floods, claiming that intense rainfall was exacerbated after India opened the Gomti Dam in Tripura, leading to the severe flooding in Bangladesh. While experts have refuted this, noting that the excessive rain in Tripura was the cause, rather than the dam opening, tensions between Bangladesh and India continue to simmer.
Nahian Tasnim wrote on her X account:
The biggest flood in ages hit the southeastern region of #Bangladesh, affecting over 3.5lacs people. India opened the gates of Dumbur dam at midnight without even notifying BD, this sudden release of water is causing huge distress and damage.#FloodInBDForIndia #IndiaOut pic.twitter.com/Nd9BOJwSnF
— Nahian Tasnim (@nahian_tas37443) August 22, 2024
Some people in Bangladesh harbour anti-Indian sentiments which are being worsened by the rumours about India's role in the flooding. Highlighting this, user Atiya Tamanna wrote on X:
India has created an artificial flood in Bangladesh by releasing water from its dams without warning and you still wonder why people hate India so much?
Remember, you don’t need any enemies if your neighbour is India.#FloodInBangladesh#ShameOnIndia#Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/HbzZnnJ3DR— Atiya Tamanna (@_Tama_Anna) August 22, 2024
Journalist and river expert Sheikh Rokon discussed on Facebook how the flash floods became deadlier due to India opening the dam:
[…] না জানিয়ে ড্যাম বা ব্যারাজ খুলে দিলে কী অসুবিধা? বন্যা তো এমনিতেই হচ্ছে। স্বাভাবিক বন্যা হতেই পারে, তাতে খুব একটা অসুবিধা নেই। কিন্তু যখন হঠাৎ ড্যাম বা ব্যারাজ খুলে দেওয়া হয়, তখন সেই বন্যা বিপর্যয়কর হতে বাধ্য। স্বাভাবিক বন্যায় হয়তো তিন দিন ধরে পানি বাড়ে ও চলে যায়। কিন্তু ড্যাম বা ব্যারাজ খুলে দিলে তিন দিনের বন্যা তিন ঘণ্টার ঘনত্বে চলে আসে। আর যদি ভাটির দেশকে না জানিয়ে ব্যারাজ ছাড়া হয়, তাহলে বন্যা মোকাবিলার প্রস্তুতি ও দুর্গতদের উদ্ধার তৎপরতার সময়ও থাকে না। জান ও মালের ক্ষতি অনেক বেশি হয়। এবার সেটাই ঘটেছে।
What’s the problem with opening a dam or barrage without informing others? Floods happen naturally, and natural progression of floods can occur without causing significant issues. But when a dam or barrage is suddenly opened, the flood water inevitably becomes catastrophic. In a natural flood, the water might rise and recede over three days. But when a dam or barrage is opened, a three-day flood hits with the intensity of three hours. And if the downstream country isn’t informed before releasing water from the barrage, there’s no time for flood preparedness and rescue efforts. The loss of life and property is much greater. That’s exactly what happened this time.
In response to allegations by Bangladeshi citizens, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement. Denying the allegations that the opening of the gates of the Dumur Dam caused the floods, the statement explained that the Gomati River basin, which flows through both India and Bangladesh, received its highest rainfall this year over several days. This flood in Bangladesh is primarily due to the excess water in the large catchment area below the dam. Tripura is bordered by Bangladesh on three sides and is also at a higher elevation than the surrounding region, meaning flood waters naturally flow toward Bangladesh.
In the statement, India also mentioned that they informed Bangladesh about the excessive increase in water flow. However, Sheikh Rokon claims that by not specifically notifying Bangladesh about the opening of the dam gates, ‘the flood was made catastrophic.’
Meanwhile, refuting the claims about the dam gates being opened, Tripura's Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath called it misinformation and stated on Facebook that the water encatchment level in the Gomati reservoir is 94 metres. When the water level rose above the encatchment level, the water automatically flew out through the gates.
There are 54 transboundary rivers between Bangladesh and India. India has constructed upriver dams in many of these rivers giving it unilateral control over the water withdrawal, and thereby violating international river laws. As a result, Bangladesh is often deprived of its fair share of water during the dry season and faces the risk of desertification. On the other hand, during the monsoon season, by opening the dam gates, Bangladesh faces a barrage of flooding. An artist in Dhaka has depicted this in a work of graffiti:
#Streetart in Dhaka.
Location: Textile Lab, Daffodil international university.
ন্যায্য পানির হিস্যা নাই। বানের জলে ভাইস্যা যাই।
Translation: We don’t receive our fair share of water downstream, yet we drown in the surge of upstream water.
For context: https://t.co/Ssea1i96l0 pic.twitter.com/5lWJ7EWebi
— Rezwan (@rezwan) August 23, 2024
Bangladesh's climate risk
According to the latest data from the World Climate Risk Index, Bangladesh is among the top ten countries most at risk of climate change. The Bangladesh government, in its National Adaptation Plan (NAP), has identified 14 climate risks across different regions of the country, including excessive rainfall, floods, and flash floods.
On April 29th, the 28th South Asian Climate Outlook Forum took place in Pune, India. During the conference, meteorologists forecasted the weather for the monsoon season (June–September) in South Asia, predicting that El Niño would weaken and La Niña would become active. This was expected to result in excessive rainfall and stronger monsoons in the region, including Bangladesh.
Mustafa Kamal, a meteorologist and PhD researcher in Atmospheric Science at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, outlined four weather-related reasons for the record rainfall and floods in Bangladesh and Tripura in an article published in the daily Prothom Alo: El Niño, the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), Jet Streams, and monsoons due to low atmospheric pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
His analysis indicates that these four factors were active over Bangladesh and eastern Indian states after August 15, with their combined effect leading to record rainfall.
The threat of climate change in Bangladesh is intensifying. The country is experiencing a series of economic, social, and environmental disasters which can be attributed to climate change. As a result, environmentalists are calling for increased preparedness and initiatives to address and mitigate the impacts of climate change.