The Urban Poor in Dhaka City

Their Struggles and Coping Strategies during the Floods of 1998

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5040482
AutoresSabina Faiz Rashid (0000-0003-0916-2631, BRAC, autor correspondente)
Ano2000
Volume24
Fascículo3
Páginas240-253
Data de publicação2000-09-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoDisasters (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0361-3666 • E-ISSN: 1467-7717
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-7717.00145
PMID11026157
OpenAlexW2149811225
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas31

Bangladesh experienced one of the worst floods in recorded history in 1998. This paper focuses on the needs and coping strategies of the urban poor in Dhaka City, which had been very badly affected. The city's roads were completely under water, and most areas were water-logged with drainage and sewage systems blocked. Rising water levels compelled many slum dwellers to move to temporary shelters and relief camps. Women and children were the worst affected. The lack of sanitation facilities and privacy forced women and children to defecate in their own homes. There was an acute scarcity of safe drinking-water, and food prices rose dramatically. Diarrhoea, fever and colds were the most common illnesses affecting the poor. The floods left many of them unemployed, and in some families, the result was increased tension and incidents of domestic violence. In some areas, members felt pressured to repay micro-credit loans. Most NGOs, however, suspended loan repayments. During this period, a committee was set up to co-ordinate and work towards addressing some of the main post-flood problems

Coping (psychology · Environmental health · Environmental planning · Forensic engineering · Geography · Injury prevention · Occupational safety and health · Poison control · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Clinical Psychology · Engineering · Flood Risk Assessment and Management · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Medicine