Comparison of the Flood Consequences
Since the Netherlands is an MEDC with better flood protection measures than Bangladesh, the resulting flood damage in the Netherlands, while serious, was far less than the damage following the Bangladesh flood.
In the Netherlands, only four people were killed because evacuation was very quick, even though over 250'000 people were affected. Although many homes and roads were flooded initially and many of the protective dykes were on the verge of collapsing, a full scale disaster was avoided as the authorities and people were very well prepared and emergency procedures were effective.
The flood in Bangladesh, on the other hand, caused incredible damage. Over 60% of the country was flooded for around two months due to the poor protection measures. As Bangladesh is an LEDC, the construction of buildings and infrastructure was poorer than that of the Netherlands, resulting in damage to 6500 bridges, 1000 schools, and 11'000 km of roads damaged. 2.5 million farmers were affected and 130 million cattle were killed as fields became literally submerged. 1040 people died, compared to four in the Netherlands, because the Bangladesh flood made access to fresh water even more difficult than it already was.
In the Netherlands, only four people were killed because evacuation was very quick, even though over 250'000 people were affected. Although many homes and roads were flooded initially and many of the protective dykes were on the verge of collapsing, a full scale disaster was avoided as the authorities and people were very well prepared and emergency procedures were effective.
The flood in Bangladesh, on the other hand, caused incredible damage. Over 60% of the country was flooded for around two months due to the poor protection measures. As Bangladesh is an LEDC, the construction of buildings and infrastructure was poorer than that of the Netherlands, resulting in damage to 6500 bridges, 1000 schools, and 11'000 km of roads damaged. 2.5 million farmers were affected and 130 million cattle were killed as fields became literally submerged. 1040 people died, compared to four in the Netherlands, because the Bangladesh flood made access to fresh water even more difficult than it already was.