In northern Bangladesh, Abdus Samad Sarker swims through floodwaters, desperately trying to salvage food for his livestock. Abdus and his family live near the Brahmaputra, one of the largest rivers in the world.
As the country battles a growing Covid-19 crisis, millions of people are also facing floodwaters that threaten their homes and livelihoods. Although the Brahmaputra and surrounding river networks provide important natural water sources, during the monsoon they also pose a threat, with waters bursting the riverbanks and inundating large swathes of the low-lying country.
While some disasters resulting from natural hazards, such as earthquakes, are next to impossible to predict, extreme weather events such as floods are relatively easy to anticipate thanks to advances in data collection and weather forecasting systems.
Source: independent