Flood Research in Bangladesh and Future Direction: an insight from last three decades

Abstract

Flooding is a critical concern that causes substantial economic damages and social issues for different regions of Bangladesh in every year. Approximately one-third of the country’s total area is highly vulnerable to floods, and people’s sufferings from the flooding are beyond description. Despite the magnitude and extent of floods, a comprehensive study on flood research in Bangladesh is inadequate. Therefore, this study analyses research articles published on floods, and their implications in Bangladesh over the last three decades. We used a systematic literature review to precisely understand the trend and pattern of published flood research in Bangladesh by summarizing, categorizing, and visualizing the existing research articles. This review revealed that research on integrated flood adaptation and management, effective flood modeling, and reliable forecasting is considerably less emphasized than studying the causes and impacts of the flood. In order to detect changes in flood causes and impacts over time and establish links between physical exposure, risk experience, and socio-demographic data in research to develop integrated flood management mechanisms, it is possible to operationalize systematic study in a specific location for an extended period. We also found that a considerable increase in interest in doing flood research following the year 2000, as the country experienced an increase in the frequency and severity of floods across the country. Based on the findings of this study, we suggested an agenda for future flood research in Bangladesh.