IHS houses withstand very well the current floods in Bangladesh

Date : 08-08-2016

Since last month, Bangladesh is heavily affected by floods and it is expected that the situation will become worse by the end of August – beginning of September. Already people fear that 2016 will be a severe flooding-disaster year. The present floods were a result of heavy rainfall in India and Nepal. All this water must pass through Bangladesh to reach the Gulf of Bengal. Fortunately, the water level is expected to decline in the coming days. This means that the number of people affected by the floods will decrease. However, this does not mean that the danger has passed for all people. The changing course of the Brahmaputra (Jamuna – Padma) results in the fact that many houses are still under threat. The new course of the river results in erosion, which leads to land loss and eventually to collapsing houses.

Her house stands safely, without damage

We sent our supervisor Tozammal to assess the current flood situation in the area of our partner GUK (Gaibandha). Fortunately, he informed us that most of our 850 houses withstood very well in the floods. Thanks to our imposed use of “paka plinth” (a brick-made plinth – min. 2ft above flood level) all houses survived the flooding! Some photos clearly illustrate the difference made by the paka plinth compared to the old the earthen plinth! However, not all went well: 3 of our clients had to disassemble their houses and recover all the valuable materials, because otherwise, the Brahmaputra would have swallowed it all. These clients have to relocate because the Brahmaputra is now running over their previous property.

Water all around, but the IHS stands proudly!

Our other NGO’s are also affected by the floods. But there is also very encouraging news for us! In SDS, all 450 houses resisted excellently to the floods. And in MMS all our clients still have their house. A promising evaluation for IHS and its partners!