The Daulatpur: Saturia Tornado Analysis
“The Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado” is considered as the world’s deadliest tornado ever recorded in history. The horrible tornado started right in Bangladesh’s Manikganj District on April 26, 1989 (Mallik et al., 2016). It initially began in Daulatpur before travelling to Saturia, which is located 50 miles northeast of Mankikganj District. The most affected areas included Dhaka, Daulatpur and Saturia. Thousands of people sustained serious injuries, died or lost their homes, which made the tornado very devastating. Since Bangladesh was very poor at that time, the aftermath of the tornado was very horrific. No structure was left standing. As compared to other storms that had earlier hit Bangladesh, this was the deadliest, costliest and most horrifying tornado in the history of Bangladesh.
The Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado produced more than 900 million dollars in damage. According to Mallik et al. (2016), if this tornado could happen in the U.S. in a similar populated town, the damage could be between 2.5 and 3.2 Billion U.S. Dollars. The tornado had very devastating effects in Bangladesh because of its aftermath and casualties. Specifically, it wiped out everything in its path with ease since the houses in the regions were poorly constructed. The winds of this tornado traveled at a speed of between 180 and 350 kilometers per hour, which led to skeletons on trees. Also, many people became either dead, seriously injured or homeless. The primary reason why thousands of people died during this tornado was due to the fact that they did not have shelters with stable foundations. The wind speeds of the tornado were also over the charts, making many deaths to occur because of either unstable houses or debris. At an average, over 1300 people lost their lives, more than 1200 people sustained serious injuries, while over 80000 people lost their homes.
Although the tornado did not last long, its impact was very powerful and intense. It destroyed the environment in the region by uprooting trees, killing animals and wiping out every infrastructure in the region (Mallik et al., 2016). The landscape was also destroyed with rain and hail, destroying a few crops that had survived the drought that had hit the region for six months before the tornado. The tornado also either destroyed or contaminated different water sources, causing food shortage around the area. It was after this disaster that Central Bangladesh experienced a wide spread of diseases and hunger, prompting the government to seek for international food and medical assistance.The Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado caused severe economic damage on Bangladesh, a country that was still struggling with poverty. Efforts that were made by the country to care for the injured victims took precedence over its economic considerations. The country spent a lot of funds in trying to rebuild public facilities like roads and hospitals that were damaged and the stores and homes that were destroyed. As explained by Mallik et al. (2016) the cleanup performed after the disaster was one of the costliest cleanups in the country’s history. The total cost of the storm was approximated to be between 1 and 1.5 Million U.S. Dollars. However, some scholars have argued that the full implications of the disaster to the economy of Bangladesh were greater than the estimated amount, because buildings were destroyed, workers were forced to go without jobs while businesses lost revenue. Even though insurers could pay claims, survivors, were forced to absorb untold amounts of personal financial losses.
It is also worth noting that most children lost their parents during the tornado, making them live in poverty without parental care. As such, the tornado contributed to poor living conditions and high poverty rates in Bangladesh. Many people lost their businesses, while other employers died, increasing the unemployment rate (Mallik et al., 2016). This could be the cause of hunger that was experienced in Central Bangladesh after the disaster. The tornado also imposed long-term negative impacts on the economy of Bangladesh. Indeed, the Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado and other tornadoes, storms and floods that followed it have made Bangladesh to be ranked as one of the poorest nations in the world that require foreign aid. Between 1975 and 1998, the GDP per capita of Bangladesh barely increased from 203 to 348 U.S. Dollars. The World Bank’s development indicators placed Bangladesh in position 170 out of 207 countries in the international ranking of gross per capita income. Despite the considerable foreign aid, Bangladesh has not been able to eliminate extreme hunger and poverty. Furthermore, there is a vast disparity in the standards of living between the urban and rural inhabitants in the country as a considerable number of Bangladeshis still live in squalor in poorly built structures especially in Dhaka, Daulatpur and Saturia, which were severely hit by the tornado.In conclusion, the Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado was the deadliest tornado in the history of Bangladesh. The tornado resulted into deaths of thousands of Bangladeshi citizens living in Dhaka, Daulaptur and Saturia, and left several people nursing severe injuries. People also lost their homes, crops and animals. The environment was destroyed as trees and infrastructure were wiped out. The tornado imposed adverse impacts on the economy of Bangladesh as the government had to incur substantial expenses in cleanups. Because people lost their businesses, water sources and crops, hunger and diseases struck the region after the disaster forcing the government to seek foreign aid. Since then Bangladesh has continued to experience high poverty and unemployment levels making the World Bank to list it, as one of the countries that require international financial assistance.