Hazards catalogue of Bangladesh and Oman: A first step in risk assessment
By Edris Alam
Introduction
To develop a hazard catalogue, it requires collating recent and historical events from diverse sources, including written records, archaeological findings, and geological data (Alam et al., 2012; Alam and Dominey‐Howes, 2015). This foundational step lays the groundwork for a more nuanced understanding of the risks at hand and facilitates formulating informed strategies for disaster preparedness and response. This study presents a case study of the hazards catalogue of Bangladesh and the Sultanate of Oman. These countries were selected because Avoidable Deaths Network’s Country Chapters were launched in these countries in 2023, and a hazard catalogue with the scope to reduce avoidable disaster deaths was developed for the same. The findings of the hazard catalogue are presented in this article.
Methods
Eight clusters of hazard framework advocated by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and International Science Congress (ISC) (2020) was adopted for this study. To support this framework desk-based literature review was conducted to identify the hazards. Please see the eight clusters in Table 1.
Table 1: Hazard Cluster by UNDRR, Sendai and ISC
| Hazard cluster | Examples |
| Meteorological and hydrological hazards | Tropical cyclones, drought, riverine floods, and heatwaves |
| Extraterrestrial hazards | Asteroid and meteorite impacts or solar flares |
| Geohazards | Three-seismogenic, volcanogenic and erosion or some type of mass movement |
| Environmental hazards | Biodiversity loss, land salination, and loss of permafrost |
| Biological hazards | Bacteria, viruses, parasites, venomous animals and mosquitoes carrying disease-causing agents , Covid-19 |
| Chemical hazards | Corrosive, flammable, and toxic chemicals, Beirut explosion 2020 |
| Technological hazards | Cyber hazards, Kakhovka dam collapsed on 7 June 2023 |
| Societal hazards | Violence and conflict (Ukraine-Russia war 2022-2023) |
Findings and Analysis
Hazard catalogues in Bangladesh
Bangladesh confronts a spectrum of disasters stemming from natural, man-made, and biological origins. Astonishingly, 90 percent of the country’s geographical expanse and the entire population, 100 percent, find themselves vulnerable to various forms of disasters. To comprehensively address all sources of hazards in the context of risk assessment and subsequent disaster prevention and response strategies, an enhanced hazard catalogue is provided in Table 2 – one that offers a refined and inclusive understanding of the diverse hazards faced by Bangladesh.
Table 2: Hazards catalogue in Bangladesh
| Deaths sources | Hazard types | Examples |
| Meteorological and hydrological hazards | Tropical cyclones, floods, thunderstorms, and heatwaves | NE (Sylhet) flood 2022, and associated displacements, lightening, heatwaves, cold waves |
| Geohazards | Landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis | Rangamati landslides 2017 caused 152 deaths |
| Environmental hazards | Biodiversity loss, land salination | Impact of salinity on women health particularly hypertension during pregnancy |
| Biological hazards | Bacteria, viruses, parasites, venomous animals and mosquitoes carrying disease-causing agents | Dengue, Chikungunya, Nipah, Covid-19 (Fifty major biological hazard attacks) |
| Public health | Drowning, Snakebites | 14,438 children (0-17 years) died from drownings causing 43 per day
Snakebites cause of indirect deaths during floods (Over 2000 deaths annually) |
| Chemical/fire hazards | Corrosive, flammable, and toxic chemicals
Fire incidences
|
Chawkbazar chemical explosion in 2019 (70 deaths) and Explosion of BM container depot at Sitakunda in 2022 (49 deaths and over 450 injuries)
|
| Technological hazards | Traffic incidences | 9951 deaths and 12, 356 injuries in 2022 |
| Occupational and industrial accidents | Ship breaking industries | 1,034 deaths and 1,037 injures in 2022 (BILS) |
| Societal hazards | Violence and conflict | 1,437 village clashes in Bramanbaria caused 151 deaths during 2019-2020, political clashes, serious and organized crime, land conflict etc. |
Source: Compiled by the author
Hazard catalogues in Oman
The Sultanate of Oman grapples with disasters originating from natural, man-made, and biological sources. In order to encompass all these hazard sources within the framework of risk assessment and subsequent disaster prevention and response strategies, we introduce an enhanced hazard catalogue detailed in Table 3. This catalogue is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the various hazards faced by Oman, aiding in the development of more effective measures to mitigate and respond to potential emergencies.
Table 3: Hazards catalogue in Bangladesh
| Deaths sources | Hazard types | Examples |
| Meteorological and hydrological hazards | Tropical cyclones, floods and heatwaves | Cyclone Shaheen 2021, Floods 2022, Sand and Dust Storms, Droughts |
| Geohazards | Landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis | Shifting dunes, ground displacements, fissures, earthquakes, tsunamis |
| Environmental hazards | Biodiversity loss, land salination | Overgrazing, loss of habitat, overuse of and damage to coastal and marine ecosystems |
| Biological hazards | Vector-Borne Diseases:
Zoonotic Diseases: Waterborne Diseases: |
Overgrazing, loss of habitat, overuse of and damage to coastal and marine ecosystems |
| Public health | Allergies, snake bites | Dust mites, pollen, and fungal spores |
| Chemical/fire hazards | Oil spills
Corrosive, flammable, and toxic chemicals |
,058 fire-related incidents in 2021, compared to 3,409 in 2020, 3,864 in 2019, 4,602 in 2018 and 4,748 |
| Technological hazards | Traffic incidences | 3,845 traffic accidents in 2017 to 1,539 accidents in 2021 (dropped 60%) |
| Occupational and industrial accidents | Work related injuries and deaths | 1000 to 1300 industrial fire and workplace |
| Societal hazards | Violence and conflict | Intentional homicides are constantly declining.
Insecurity from regional conflicts exist. Migrants are less aware of hazard |
Source: Compiled by the author
Conclusion
The introduction of an enhanced hazard catalogue (Tables 2 and 3) not only enables a comprehensive understanding of the diverse hazards faced by Bangladesh and the Sultanate of Oman but also paves the way for synergies between the United Nations Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the country’s governmental legislative and policy frameworks for disaster risk reduction (Table 2), fostering a more integrated and robust approach to resilience and response. This collaborative approach aims to enhance the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction initiatives, fostering a more cohesive and coordinated response to mitigate the impact of disasters on both national and international levels.
References
Alam, E., Dominey-Howes, D., Goff, J. and Chagué-Goff, C. (2012) Tsunamis of the northeast Indian Ocean with a particular focus on the Bay of Bengal region – a synthesis and review. Earth-Science Reviews, 114(1-2): 175-193.
Alam, E. and Dominey‐Howes, D., (2015) A new catalogue of tropical cyclones of the northern Bay of Bengal and the distribution and effects of selected landfalling events in Bangladesh. International Journal of Climatology, 35(6): 801-835.
UNDRR and ISC (2020) Hazard Definition and Classificaiton Review: Technical Report. A report developed by Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030, International Science Congress (ISC) and United Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Generva, p. 88. weblink: https://www.undrr.org/publication/hazard-definition-and-classification-review-technical-report.
Author’s short bio: Dr Edris Alam is a Professor of Integrated Emergency and Business Continuity Management with a strong record of high-quality research outputs by publishing in the science of natural hazards, risk, vulnerability and disaster management.