Introduction

Bangladesh is a low lying delta, where more then 310 bigger and smaller rivers, original
from the Himalaya Mountains meander to the Indian Ocean. Natural disasters, mainly
floods and cyclones, form a serious threat to development in Bangladesh. And as sea
level and temperatures are rising, the problems will increase. Precipitation becomes
unpredictable and more extreme, resulting in floods and periods of drought, while sea
level rise causes salination of the agricultural land. This will be an enormous challenge
for a country where 70% of the population depends on agriculture. Especially those
groups with an income on or below the poverty line (an estimated 45% of the population)
can be hit very hard. From one day to another their livelihood can be washed away, and
those people do not have any reserve to fight poverty again. In 2007 Bangladesh was hit
hard by several natural disasters. As a result millions of people lost their houses and
livelihood. Once more it became obvious that preventive measures are needed in order to
better protect the people who live in risk areas.

Cyclones in Bangladesh are presently classified according to their intensity and the
following nomenclature is in use: depression (winds up to 62 km/hr), cyclonic storm
(winds from 63 to 87 km/hr), severe cyclonic storm (winds from 88 to 118 km/hr) and
severe cyclonic storm of hurricane intensity (winds above 118 km/hr).

Cyclone SIDR was the most powerful cyclone to impact Bangladesh since 1991 when a
reported 140,000 people perished and billions of dollars damage was reported. In this
instance the death toll is significantly less (approximately 3,406) however the damage to
crop and infrastructure is significant across 30 districts, 200 upazila and 1,950 unions.
Over 55,000 people were injured, while over 1,000 remain missing. The highest wind
speed of SIDR, meaning ‘hole’ or ‘eye’ in Sinhalese language, was recorded in
Patuakhali at 223 kilometers per hour (km/ph), compared to the 225 km/ph wind speed of
the 1991 hurricane and 222 km/ph wind force of the 1970 hurricane. Cyclone Sidr hit the
south and southwest Bangladesh coast on 15 November 2007. The storm arrived as a
Category-4 Super Cyclone with peak winds of 250 kilometers per hour, affecting
approximately 30 districts within the administrative divisions of Barisal and Khulna.

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Coastal districts of Bangladesh faced heavy rainfall as an early impact of the cyclone.
Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh experienced drizzle and gusty winds. Total damages
came close to $450 million. Tidal waves reaching up to a height of 3 metres (9.8 ft) were
reported in the coastal areas of north Chennai in southern state of Tamil Nadu in India,
triggering panic among the fishing community.

The damage in Bangladesh was extensive, including tin shacks flattened, houses and
schools blown away and enormous tree damage. Some local officials have described the
damage as being even worse than that from the 1991 cyclone. The entire cities of
Patuakhali, Barguna and Jhalokati District were hit hard by the storm surge of over
5 meters (16 ft). About a quarter of the world heritage site Sunderbans were damaged.
Researchers said mangrove forest Sunderban will take at least 40 years to recover itself
from this catastrophe. Much of the capital city of Dhaka was also severely affected, as
electricity and water service were cut and significant damage was reported there due to
winds and flooding. The local agricultural industry was also devastated, as many rice
crops which have a December harvest were lost.

At least 3,447 deaths have been reported. The hardest-hit area was Barguna, where 423
people were reported to have been killed, according to local officials. Patuakhali was also
hard-hit, with 385 deaths reported. Most of the deaths confirmed thus far were due to the
winds, although 13 of them have been as a result of capsized boats in the Faridpur district
of Bangladesh. The head of the Red Crescent in Bangladesh expects the death toll to
reach as high as 10,000. Over 3,000 other fishermen were reported missing on over 500
fishing boats.

The preliminary damage and loss assessment for crops, livestock, and fisheries is
estimated to be BDT 30.2 billion (US$437.6 million), of which BDT 1.5 billion (US$21.3
million) is damage to assets and BDT 28.7 billion (US$416.3 million) is production loss.
As the agriculture sector consists primarily of private farmers and fishermen, almost all
of the damage and loss has occurred in the private sector.( Ministry of Finance,2008 )

The macro and micro socio-economic impact of Cyclone Sidr is substantial and falls into
four broad categories; (i)food supply(mainly rice); (ii) income and employment;

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(iii)availability of agricultural inputs; and (iv) prices of food and agricultural inputs.
( Ministry of Finance,2008 )

Approximately,2.2 million farming families have been affected by SIDR. The total
damage and loss for the crops sub-sector are estimated at about BDT 28.4 billion(US$
412 million).the loss of all crops refers to an estimated 1.3 million metric tons, of which
63 percent (0.8 million metric tons) is aman rice. ( Ministry of Finance,2008 )

Livestock is a very important sub-sector for the rural landless and for marginal and small
farmers. Raising livestock is not only labor intensive, providing many employment
opportunities, but also generates regular monthly income from the sale of milk, eggs,
poultry and goats. Most of the damage in the livestock sub-sector was caused by the tidal
surge that drowned animals and birds and by falling trees. Almost 80 percent of the
animals and 76 percent of the birds died in the four worst affect districts. There was also
destruction of animal and poultry sheds (both cattle and poultry farms) and of feed (cattle
and poultry),and devastation of fodder and pasture. There is also some destruction to
public sector infrastructure (trees, animal sheds, and buildings). The estimated value of
damage to the livestock sub sector is BDT 1.3 billion( US$19.33million ) . ( Ministry of
Finance,2008 )

Fisheries are one of the fastest growing agricultural sub-sectors in Bangladesh. Most of
the growth is attributed to fish and shrimp aquaculture. Shrimp, in particular, thrive in the
brackish waters of the coastal districts that were affected by Sidr. The damage and loss
that Sidr caused consists the damage to the fisheries infrastructure such as ponds, dighis,
and ghers; damage to private fishing equipment such as boats and nets; damage to public
infrastructure such as boundary walls, roofs and electric lines in fisheries related public
buildings; and losses in catch or production. Damage and losses in the fisheries sub-
sector, in the ten most affected districts, are estimated at BDT 463 million ( US$6.7
million). ( Ministry of Finance,2008 )

Following the 2007 floods that affected over 13.8 million people in Bangladesh (mostly
northern and central districts), Cyclone Sidr hit the southwest Bangladesh coast on 15
November 2007. The storm arrived as a Category-4 Super Cyclone with peak winds at

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250 kilometers per hour. Cyclone Sidr continued to travel in a north-northeast direction,
affecting approximately 30 districts mostly within the administrative divisions of Barisal
and Khulna. More than 3,000 people have been reported dead and thousands are still
missing. The affected populations, especially communities on the cyclone path, are
traumatized by the magnitude and impact of the cyclone. The strong winds and tidal
surge with water levels varying from 5 to 12 feet in some areas damaged more than 1.6
million acres of cropland, 1.2 million houses, sanitation facilities and contaminated water
sources with saline and debris. Rural roads and many of the embankments including
some 8,000 educational facilities and significant numbers of health facilities were
extensively damaged. The livelihood activities of the severely affected people include
agriculture, shrimp farming, fishing, livestock rearing, tree plantation and petty trade.
Most families lost their food stocks and livestock. Unlike many other regions in
Bangladesh, the severely affected areas have a single harvest during the months of
November through January. Most of the Aman (main harvest) rice crops destroyed were
ready or nearly ready for harvest. The next harvest in the country is expected in May
2008. Food markets in the affected areas are slowly recovering. Many small shops selling
food in the worst affected areas were severely damaged due to strong winds and falling
trees and debris. Physical access to food markets has been disrupted in some of the worst
affected areas. The loss of assets and destruction of communication networks have
resulted in the non functioning of some rural markets, limited supply of basic goods and
services and high prices of food commodities. The damage to croplands, shrimp farms,
fishing ponds, and tree nurseries has increased unemployment for the extreme poor who
depend on wage labor for their livelihood.
Livestock losses represent not only a loss of critical household assets, with an associated
loss to wealth and income, but also a loss in milk production for subsistence
consumption. Fish consumption in the diet is expected to decline due to destruction of
boats and nets and damage to fishponds and shrimp farms. The coping mechanisms of
the severely affected people include migration to other districts in search of employment
opportunities, distress sale of assets, reduction in food consumption, sharing of shelter,
loans and borrowings. The cyclone has also impacted the traditional community and
family support systems. Extreme poverty in affected areas varies from 30 to 35 percent

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with a widening inequality. The under nutrition prevalence (child underweight<-2z
scores) in the affected areas at normal times is 53.3 percent against a national average of
45.7 percent. Barisal carries a heavy burden of child underweight/under nutrition.
Bangladesh is highly correlated with rice prices and no grain food expenditure. Given
that commodity prices recently rose significantly in Bangladesh prior to the cyclone, it
can be expected that the cyclone will have an even greater impact on child malnutrition
than it would have if it had occurred in a normal market environment. The major
livelihood activities in the coastal areas are fishing, agriculture, livestock and no farm
activities. While fishing is the most obvious and noticeable livelihood on the coast, all
other livelihoods could actually employ as many or more people than fishing. The
indirect damage takes the form of loss of market demand for enterprises and individuals
working in the directly affected area or in the vicinity, leading in turn to job losses. For
example, the drastic reduction in the fish catch in the immediate aftermath of the SIDR
will have impacts on fish preparation and processing, storage and trade extending well
beyond the immediate impact area.

After SIDR many programs and reports were explain the damage and losses of the
property but not present the effect on crop, livestock and fisheries which directly and
indirectly related with the socio-economic condition. Those did not expose the
circumstances about production, income and expenditure, food security and food
availability. They did not exploded the existing socio-economic condition and the
problem created by the socio-economic losses. In this study tried to focus on changes in
production (crop, livestock and fisheries), income and expenditure, food security and
food availability due to SIDR.

After SIDR many agencies had started many programs and research and different reports
present the damage and losses of the property due to SIDR. But not identified its effect
on crop , livestock and fisheries. This research was going to find out the existing
socioeconomic condition and ascertain the problem created by the losses of crop,
livestock, fisheries due to SIDR in 2007 in Pirojpur district of Bangladesh.