Responding to Disasters: Emergency Flood Damage Rehabilitation in Bangladesh

In 2004, Bangladesh suffered one of the most devastating floods in its history. Considered the country’s worst-ever in terms of geographic extent and economic damage, the floods affected 39 districts, including Dhaka. Economic disruption and serious damages to infrastructure and other assets inflicted heavy losses on agricultural and industrial output and slowed down growth in services. The combined losses to assets and output climbed to at least $2.3 billion. Almost 36 million people were affected and the death toll reached nearly 800.

The quick response of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to Bangladesh’s request for assistance led to a $15-million grant and $180-million loan for damage rehabilitation and the establishment of a decentralized Flood Monitoring Unit in Dhaka. ADB’s assistance strengthened the partnership between Bangladesh and its development partners and simplified several administrative processes to facilitate speedy decision-making and action.

Completed in 25 months, the project rehabilitated rural and municipal infrastructure, 3,000 kilometers (km) of roads, 2,000 km of bridges and culverts, restoration of railways, and repair of water resources and structures.

This initiative showcased ADB’s leveraging of its resident mission for project processing and administration, willingness to authorize advance procurement action, simplified approval procedure, early recruitment of consultants, and retroactive financing on a large scale.