doi: 10.3850/S1793924012001149

Super Cyclone SIDR 2007: Climate Change Adaptation Mechanisms for Coastal Communities in Bangladesh

Tapan Sarker¹ and Mehdi Azam^{2 1}Asia Pacific Centre for Sustainable Enterprise, Griffith University, 226 Grey Street, South Brisbane QLD 4101, Australia. tapan.sarker@griffith.edu.au ²Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. mehdi.azam@mq.edu.au

ABSTRACT

Cyclone SIDRⁱ hit the coastal districts of Bangladesh on November 15, 2007 in the evening, when it started crossing the country from northern Bay of Bengal with high tidal surges and strong winds of up to 260 km/hr. This study has been undertaken to assess the severity of the damage caused by SIDR, and identify causes of such cyclonic storms in recent years in order to suggest possible adaptive measures for the coastal people to cope with such situations in the future. The study reveals that both natural and human induced factors are responsible for such devastating catastrophes. The study suggests a number of climate change adaptation andmitigation options that can be taken to reduce the severity of damages caused by cyclones in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. These include: developing an early warning system; constructing adequate cyclone shelters and tree plantations in the remote coastal areas; constructing structured and fortified houses and livestock shelters; livelihood diversification; and building awareness in the community regarding the impacts of changing climatic conditions in the coastal areas of Bangladesh.

Keywords: Cyclone SIDR, Climate change adaptation, Livelihood diversification.

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