One month ago, on November 9 2019, Category 2 Cyclone Bulbul made landfall over India. A day later, the storm entered Bangladesh through the Buri Goalini Range of the Sundarbans, in the Shyamnagar Upazila of Satkhira District.
The cyclone stayed in Bangladesh for approximately 36 hours: it was one of the longest enduring cyclones the country has faced in more than five decades.
The Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, reduced Bulbul’s wind speed from 148 km/h to 130 km/h, protecting the scores of people who live in the area and depend on the mangroves for their livelihood.
This, and the timely evacuation of communities, helped to limit loss of life. However, Christian Aid believes much more needs to be done to support cyclone survivors in Bangladesh’s coastal areas, and to enable them to become more resilient to future storms.
Over the last few decades, climate change and sea level rise have been increasing the destructive impact of cyclones, their rainfall and the storm surges they cause. Globally the number of cyclones in the highest categories (3 to 5) has increased, the strongest of these by over 300%. There is evidence that this trend has resulted in an increase in severe cyclones in November in the Bay of Bengal [1]. As was the case with Bulbul, they are also moving more slowly, releasing more rainfall over the locations they pass and causing more flooding [2]. Sea level rise increases the height of the storm surge, causing more destruction and leaving salt water in the soils of farmers’ fields. This can take them years to recover from.
While Bulbul only reached strong tropical cyclone category, nevertheless, the loss and damage particularly to livelihoods and assets are increasing with each storm. Bulbul brought heavy rainfall that had a severe impact on agriculture and aquaculture, as well as housing. The cyclone claimed 24 lives, while battering 18,000 mud houses and displacing some 2.1 million people across Bangladesh, who were relocated to cyclone shelters. The total loss of winter vegetables is estimated at $14.8m.