Managing floods in Bangladesh

In June 2022, Bangladesh witnessed some of the worst flooding in 122 years in the Sylhet region, hitting at a time when the country was still recovering from floods in late May, caused by the early arrival of the Southasian monsoons.

Floods are common in Bangladesh as it is the lowest riparian nation (located near rivers or other water bodies) in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna [GBM] basin. As floods become more frequent in Southasia due to the global climate crisis, what can Southasian co-riparian countries in the GBM basin (which include India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal) do to lessen the impact of the floods? To understand this and more, Himal Southasian speaks to Rafiqul Islam, Senior Reporter, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha and M. Zakir Hossain Khan, Chief Executive, Change Initiative.