Socio-Economic Impacts of Cyclone Aila on Migrant and Non-Migrant Households in the Southwestern Coastal Areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

In 2009, the tropical cyclonic storm Aila hit 11 southwestern coastal districts in Bangladesh, which triggered migration. Many studies were conducted on the impact of Aila on southwestern coastal communities; however, no comparative study was done on migrant and non-migrant households. Therefore, this article set out to assess the impact of cyclone Aila on the socio-economic conditions of migrant and non-migrant households. The households that could not cope with the impact, resulting in at least one household member having to migrate to seek an alternative source of income, were considered migrant households. On the other hand, non-migrant households were considered as those where no one migrated. The unit of analysis was the households. The research was conducted in the Koyra and Shymnagar sub-districts of Khulna and Satkhira, respectively. Mixed-method analysis was carried out using quantitative data collected from 270 households through a survey and qualitative data through 2 focus group discussions, 12 key informant interviews, and informal discussions. Data were analyzed through a comparative analysis of the migrant and non-migrant households. The findings showed that migrant households were better equipped to recover from losses in terms of income, housing, food consumption, and loan repayments than non-migrant households. It can be argued that the options of migration or shifting livelihood are better strategies for households when dealing with climatic events. Furthermore, the outcome of this research could contribute to the growing body of knowledge in an area where there are evident gaps. The findings could support policymakers and researchers to understand the impacts of similar climatic events, as well as the necessary policy interventions to deal with similar kinds of climatic events in the future. The study could be useful for developing and refining policies to recover from losses as a result of the same types of climatic events.

Impact of Cyclone Yaas 2021 Aggravated by COVID-19 Pandemic in the Southwest Coastal Zone of Bangladesh

“…During the cyclone, flooding in the study area inundated the entire area with saline water, causing massive damage to agriculture and fishery. The affected coastal people were mostly dependent on agriculture and fishing [20,27]. Therefore, there were severe impacts on agricultural production, fisheries, and livestock, along with decreased income and employment opportunities of these coastal inhabitants [20].…”

“…The affected coastal people were mostly dependent on agriculture and fishing [20,27]. Therefore, there were severe impacts on agricultural production, fisheries, and livestock, along with decreased income and employment opportunities of these coastal inhabitants [20]. The study area was struck by cyclone Amphan in 2020, and people were still struggling to recover from the losses when Cyclone Yaas made the situation worse.…”

“…Among these disasters, cyclones are considered the major and the most devastating catastrophe to the human habitation in this country [13,15,18,19]. A study conducted in the coastal regions of Bangladesh by Subhani and Ahmad [20] shows that cyclone Sidr struck the southwest coast of Bangladesh on 15 November 2007, causing 3406 fatalities, and over 55,000 individuals experienced physical injuries. Moreover, cyclone Sidr impacted nearly 2.30 million households and damaged or destroyed 2.50 million acres of cropland [12].…”

“…Moreover, cyclone Sidr impacted nearly 2.30 million households and damaged or destroyed 2.50 million acres of cropland [12]. A year later, on 25 May 2009, cyclone Aila hit the same region, resulting in 190 deaths, injuring over 7000 people, affecting approximately 5 million people, and extensively damaging over 1400 km of embankments, an estimated 8800 km of roads, and 350,000 acres of cropland [12,20,21]. Cyclone Mahasen struck in the Patuakhali district on 16 May 2013, affecting almost 1.5 million people and destroying thousands of acres of cropland, fishponds, and fish farms [11,12].…”

“…Just a year before, on 21 May 2020, the tropical cyclone Amphan struck the same areas and people were still struggling to cope with the devastation from Amphan, which made the situation even worse when Yaas struck [26,27]. The coastal inhabitants are predominantly poor, some of them are landless, and their livelihood options are mainly agriculture, fisheries, and salt farming [20]. This large section of impoverished communities is severely affected by climate-induced disasters negatively impacting their livelihoods and increasing vulnerability as they are forced to adopt negative coping strategies as well as in risk of gender-based violence, child labour, child marriage and human trafficking, and access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities [6,11,13,14].…”