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A short-term decrease in household income inequality in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh, following Cyclone Aila

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Abstract

Cyclones are the most common natural disaster in Bangladesh. Here, we assess the economic impact of a relatively small cyclone, Cyclone Aila, which hit the Sundarbans region in 2009 and destroyed local infrastructure including many shrimp farms. In contrast to other studies, we found that the higher-income households in the study area (Koyra sub-district) were more vulnerable in both relative and absolute terms. The average damage costs for high income households were 42 % of the yearly income before Aila, whereas this was only 16 and 15 % for middle- and low-income groups, respectively. Higher-income households were also less resilient than middle- and low-income groups, also something rarely reported in the literature. By engaging in new opportunities, the poorest households, by our calculations, increased their income by 16 % compared to their income before Aila. Middle income households decreased their income slightly (by 4 %), while the income of the richest households dropped by about 50 % after the cyclone. Income was more equally distributed across the population after the cyclone than it was before, in particular in the highly and severely affected areas.

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Notes

  1. Here defined as the levels of exposure and sensitivity of a system and the likelihood that an individual or community will be exposed to and adversely affected by a hazard (Cutter 1993,1996).

  2. Here defined as the ability of individuals or communities to recover from and cope with natural disasters (Adger 2006; Cutter et al. 2010).

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Acknowledgments

An Australian government International Postgraduate Research Scholarship and a University Postgraduate Research Scholarship provided by Charles Darwin University (CDU) enabled the first author to undertake the research. The fieldwork was also generously supported by a grant provided by the Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL). The authors would like to thank the residents and local government authorities of the study sites in Koyra district for the participation and support in the data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia

    Abu Nasar Mohammad Abdullah, Bronwyn Myers, Natasha Stacey & Stephen Thomas Garnett

  2. The Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia

    Kerstin Katharina Zander

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  1. Abu Nasar Mohammad Abdullah
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  2. Kerstin Katharina Zander
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Correspondence to Abu Nasar Mohammad Abdullah.

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Abdullah, A.N.M., Zander, K.K., Myers, B. et al. A short-term decrease in household income inequality in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh, following Cyclone Aila. Nat Hazards 83, 1103–1123 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2358-1

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