2017 South Asian floods

Date: July–September 2017

Place: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal

Result: More than 1,200 people killed, 45 million people affected, and more than 5.9 million acres of cropland destroyed.

Overview

The 2017 South Asian floods were a disaster that affected more than forty-five million people in the countries of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Floods are an annual threat throughout South Asia during the monsoon months of July, August, and September. During this period, this region receives a majority of its annual rainfall totals. The people indigenous to these areas are used to heavy rains and have learned to adapt to the sometimes intense seasonal storms. However, rainfall totals during the 2017 summer monsoon season were well above average in many locations, leading to a series of disastrous floods that pummeled the region.

Compounding the problem, many of the affected people were left homeless. An estimated 750,000 homes were destroyed, leaving millions exposed to worsening weather conditions, water-borne diseases like cholera, and food shortages. By September 2017, fully a third of Bangladesh and Nepal had been affected by severe floods. Most severely hit were areas of Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh states in northern India, the Terai region in southern Nepal, and the Kurigram and Chimari districts in northern Bangladesh. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) described the resulting humanitarian crisis as among the worst to hit the region in forty years. Some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) suggested that the 2017 floods were an example of how climate change was creating more powerful storms with deadlier consequences. Regardless of the relationship between climate change and unusual weather patterns, officials in the region estimated that recovery would likely take years due to the heavy losses of both crops and homes.

Impact

The first signs of a brewing disaster occurred in mid-June when torrential rains caused a series of mudslides in southeastern Bangladesh, killing 135 people. While not linked to the monsoon season, the earlier arrival of Cyclone Mora in May had left the region’s ground already saturated sooner than is average for the region. By the end of June, communities in the Bandarban, Chittagong, and Rangamati districts had been cut off from supplies due to damaged infrastructure. Refugees who had been displaced from Cambodia were particularly affected as the resettlement camps set up for them in southeast Bangladesh were not designed to withstand such severe weather conditions. By the end of June, more than 1.3 million people were estimated to have been impacted by the floods.

Heavy rains continued throughout July and August, as flooding impact zones stretched to include large swaths of northern India and Nepal. By the end of July, the number of affected residents had swelled to 5.7 million in Bangladesh alone. The Brahmaputra-Jamuna watershed stretching across the country’s northern and western interior overflowed its banks, impacting an additional eight million people, including three million children. Overwhelmed by the widespread nature of the disaster, Bangladesh made a request to international aid organizations for assistance in helping its citizens. NGOs asked for governmental donations from the global community in excess of twelve million dollars to support rebuilding efforts and alleviate food shortages. Later studies by the Shelter Cluster, an NGO that supports disaster relief efforts, determined that the most affected communities tended to be in Bangladesh’s marginalized regions—areas that were already struggling with limited food supplies and endemic poverty. In these areas, homes tended to constructed from mud and were typically on or near water channels. An estimated 103,855 homes were lost to the floods, with another 633,792 badly damaged.

In India, more than 11,000 villages were fully submerged by the time the floodwaters finally began to recede in September. Mumbai was among the most affected Indian cities, with daily rain totals often exceeding 5 inches (12.7 centimeters). In the city’s financial district, a building collapsed in late August, killing six. Though monsoon floods are a recurring issue for Mumbai, the 2017 floods were the worst in the area since 2005, when more than 500 people were killed.

One million people in India were forced to move into relief camps. Over the course of late 2017 and early 2018, NGOs like Save the Children helped distribute food packages to 10,000 households through northern India. However, an estimated 17 million children were estimated to require some form of assistance, ranging from health care to basic nutritional aid and secure housing. More than 18,000 schools across the region were forced to close indefinitely as a result of the flooding, ultimately affecting 1.8 million students. After experiencing similar crises in the region in the past, NGOs in the region noted that displaced children were particularly affected by higher risks of infection, lost days of education, and higher rates of quitting school. Officials worried that vulnerable children like these might even be at risk from human trafficking.

The damages from the floods were less severe in Nepal, though nearly 20,000 homes were still either completely destroyed or damaged, ultimately displacing approximately 90,000 people. Water gauges in Banke, Chitwan and Makwanpur districts had recorded the highest seasonal rainfall totals in sixty years by mid-August. Government officials estimated that total damages from the 2017 floods were about $600 million, with more than $700 million required for rebuilding and humanitarian efforts. By September 2017, nearly 21,000 households in Nepal remained displaced, with many people having no homes to return to.

Official throughout the region recognized that one of the greatest consequences of the flooding was the damage to the countries’ food supplies. The affected regions included some of the most important farming areas in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In total, India saw three million acres of crops lost to flooding. In total, more than 5.9 million acres were lost, which was particularly devastating to a region where food shortages are already a chronic problem.

Bibliography

Barker, Anne. “South Asia Floods: Estimated 40 Million Across India, Bangladesh, Nepal Affected.” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 8 Sept. 2017, www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-08/40-million-forced-to-rebuild-lives-after-south-asia-floods/8886264. Accessed 28 May 2019.

Berlinger, Josh, and Sugam Pokharel. “Hundreds Dead, Thousands at Risk After Massive Flooding in South Asia.” CNN, 22 Aug. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/08/22/asia/south-asia-flooding/index.html. Accessed 28 May 2019.

“Deadly South Asia Floods Affect 16m People.” BBC, 18 Aug. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40975232. Accessed 28 May 2019.

Garmirian, Claire, and Erin Taylor. “South Asia Floods: At Least 5.9 Million Acres of Cropland Destroyed as Floodwaters Begin to Recede.” Save the Children, 6 Sept. 2017, www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/media-and-news/2017-press-releases/south-asia-floods--at-least-5-9-million-acres-of-cropland-destro. Accessed 28 May 2019.

Gettelman, Jeffrey. “More Than 1,000 Died in South Asia Floods This Summer.” New York Times, 29 Aug. 2017, nytimes.com/2017/08/29/world/asia/floods-south-asia-india-bangladesh-nepal-houston.html. Accessed 28 May 2019.

“Nepal: Floods and Landslides - Jun 2017.” ReliefWeb, 1 Dec. 2017, reliefweb.int/disaster/fl-2017-000107-npl. Accessed 28 May 2019.

Siddique, Haroon. “South Asia Floods Kill 1,200 and Shut 1.8 Million Children Out of School.” Guardian, 30 Aug. 2017, www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/30/mumbai-paralysed-by-floods-as-india-and-region-hit-by-worst-monsoon-rains-in-years. Accessed 28 May 2019.

“South Asia floods: Two Months Later.” ReliefWeb, 19 Oct. 2017, reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/south-asia-floods-two-months-later. Accessed 28 May 2019.

Voiland, Adam. “Severe Monsoon Rains Flood South Asia.” Earth Observatory, 8 Sept. 2017, earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/90920/severe-monsoon-rains-flood-south-asia. Accessed 28 May 2019.