Exploring the Livelihood of the Flood Affected Families: A Study in the Haor Area of Netrokona, Bangladesh

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The study's general purpose is to know the livelihood dynamics of flooded families and the rehabilitation system in the Haor area of Bangladesh. This study used both qualitative and quantitative data. About 60 family heads were randomly selected from the two villages. The survey found four types of occupation as their income-generating activities during food and the main occupation was agriculture. The majority of them mentioned inadequate food was the main problem during the flood. Women and children, domestic animals and older people were the main victims of the flood in the Haor. This study found that women’s role during and after the flood are variegated like house care, food processing, agricultural and taking care of livestock etc. Haor people are poor, less educated and vulnerable. With their limited resources, they are trying to survive and contribute to the nation by crops production. Sociology Haor livelihood flood disaster family drinking water Figures Figure 1 Introduction The South Asian nation of Bangladesh is inclined to the natural catastrophe of flooding due to being located on the Ganges Delta and the many tributaries flowing into the Bay of Bengal. Here, about two-thirds of the whole land is categorized as wetlands, which have been estimated at seven to eight million hectares (Rahman et al., 2001 ). The coastal flooding twinned with the bursting of Bangladesh's riverbanks is frequent and severely influences the panorama and Bangladeshi society. About 75 percent of Bangladesh is much less than 10 meters above sea level, and 80 percent is flood-undeniable. The convectional rainfall of the monsoon is brought about by the rainfall precipitated by way of the Himalayas. Melt water from the Himalayas is additionally a sizable enter and flood each year. Every 12 months in Bangladesh, about 26,000 km 2 (around 18%) of the land of the country is flooded, killing over 5,000 human beings and destroying 7 million houses (Arun, 2008). From March to September in an ordinary year, the residents of Bangladesh are the most efficient to foremost flooding, as a combination of the monsoon and the rising of most of the rivers and their tributaries attain their top as the snow begins to melt and the rain starts to pour. Widespread flooding in Bangladesh, as considered in 1988, 1998, and 1991, has triggered widespread destruction. The financial improvement of the rural sphere is mostly intertwined, as each year, the populace loses property and livelihood. South Asian people, 70 percent of whom live in rural areas, additionally account for 75 percent of the poor, most of whom depend on agriculture for their livelihood (Ninno et al., 2001 ). Each year, they are disproportionately affected by the results of local weather change. Two catastrophes alone, Bangladesh cyclone 1997 and cyclone Sidr-2007, cost the nation around a quarter of a million of its residents. There are serious concerns about mitigating the consequences of climate change and investing in the capacity building of each system component to secure the future of this country. Floods are the most common hazards in Bangladesh. Almost every year, they have to prepare for this disaster. It is more or less a recurring phenomenon in Bangladesh. Occasionally, it becomes divesting. During the rainy season, when the water exceeds the holding capacity of rivers, canals, Beels, and Haors, low-lying areas inundate the whole area, causing damage to crops, homelands, roads, and other properties. The livelihood of flooded families in the Haor area of Netrokona district in Bangladesh is affected and destroyed by floods almost every year. During the flood and after that, they face different sorts of harmful problems, which are the main drawbacks of their improvement. It is exigent to find out their problems and solve them as soon as possible. Many international, national, and local NGOs are working on this issue. Moreover, policymakers have given importance to indigenous skills and knowledge to solve their problems and promote sustainable development in recent times. This article attempts to provide an enriched document on the livelihood of flood-affected people in Netrokona district. I hope we can get proper suggestions or advice from this article to reduce the flood damages and launch a rehabilitation program. Objectives of the Study The general objective of the study is to know the livelihood dynamics of flooded families in the Haor area of Bangladesh. In light of this general objective, some special objectives are taken- To identify their understanding about flood and their vulnerability of the Hoar area. To know about their preparedness and the rehabilitation programs to rehabilitate flood-affected people. Literature Review The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta and the hundred and thirty million people residing in Bangladesh face a serious challenge (Ali, 1999 ). While delta growth is striving to maintain peace with nearby sea-level rise, humans are again and again confronted by natural and human-made catastrophes such as cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes, riverbank erosion, surface and groundwater pollution, air pollution, droughts, wetland loss, coastal erosion, and floods. While some of these environmental degradations are not immediately associated with human things and land-use practices (such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and cyclones), others are related to human interactions with nature. Flooding is one such water-related environmental hassle, the magnitude of which is a lot dependent on land-use practices in the watershed of every river or stream. Revering floods happen when the quantity of runoff originating in a watershed exceeds the carrying capacity of the natural and built drainage systems. Flooding can happen due to river overflow or surface runoff. There are two kinds of floods in Bangladesh: annual floods that inundate up to 20% of the land area and low-frequency floods of excessive magnitude that inundate greater than 35% of the area (Abedin and Khatun, 2019 ). Overall, in Bangladesh, especially in the Haor area, floods hamper their day-to-day lives. It is very much related to the livelihood of the Haor area damaged by the extreme flood. Flash floods and seasonal floods made their livelihood patterns difficult. The government places extreme significance on planning and improvement measures as a significant part of its overall strategic approach to adaptation to local weather change and flood threat management, constructing upon its long-standing acknowledgement of flooding in its rules as an essential planning issue. We have to be conscious of the places we live or work, in particular those that are in low-lying areas, hilly areas, Haor areas, etc. At the community level, flash floods make them extremely vulnerable. As the flash flood occurred, it grasped all the vegetation in the Haor basin at first glance, and the ultimate sufferers were the farmer and his household. Apart from the farmer, there are different vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, children, women, elderly residents, etc. The livelihood pattern of the Haor area is not the same as in other areas. Their accommodation, education, family members, food habits, etc., are far different and lower than the average area of Bangladesh. The education facility and willingness to learn are still beyond the expected line. Dropout is the major problem here. Before the completion of their primary education, they are usually involved in income-generating activities. In the Haor area, they have gradually improved their livelihood. The scenario was not the same before and after ten years. The inhabitants who had tin, wood, and bamboo-made houses before ten years used semi-paka houses (Ali, 2005). In the Haor area, flash floods often damage housing infrastructure. The direct consequences of flash floods include the submerging of houses, the loss and injury of physical property, and the risks associated with the rise in water levels. People generally sell different belongings to rebuild broken houses, like farming or non-farming land, bulls, woody trees, household utensils, etc. This creates a vicious poverty circle as they lose one kind of asset to recover from different types of asset loss or damage. To keep the plants and cultivate their belongings, people adopted some instant techniques, such as early sowing, early harvesting, cutting near-rip crops before the early flash flood, and cutting as many crops as possible during the flash flood (Abedin and Khatun, 2019 ). To improve livelihood conditions, support from the different organizations during natural disasters’ is most important. Credit facilities provided by the government can help to improve livelihoods. Respondents considered upgrading transportation; a fixed lease market is needed to enhance livelihood supports, mainly the respondents related to fishing supports that support providing an instrument for fishing can improve their livelihood. In the Haor area, most of the inhabitants heard about climate change issues, but not all. Research Methodology Study Area In Bangladesh, the Haor area is found in the districts of Netrokona, Kishorgonj, and Sunamgonj. This study considered Netrakona district as the major part of Haor situated here. This study was conducted on villages named Rupchandarapur and Madon located in Atpara Upazila under Netrakona district. This village is located in the northeastern part of Bangladesh, with coordinates of about 25.46 N latitudes and 90.52 E longitudes (Fig. 1 ). Noteworthy, the villages are elected purposively for the convenience of the investigation. This study was conducted in January–September 2021 in the study area. Population and sampling There are about 300 families in the two villages mentioned. All family heads in the selected area are considered the population of this study, and each of the family members is also considered the unit of analysis. This study was based on a sample survey method of social research. About 20 percent of family heads were randomly selected from the two villages the case study method is used in this study for an in-depth study and a better understanding of the study problem. Techniques of the Data Collection Structured surveys was administered to family members of the household for collecting data. About 60 family heads were randomly selected from the two villages. A main street was randomly selected within the 2 villages, and then a residential side street was selected that intersects the main street. Finally, an interviewer knocked on the selected household door to collect data with structured questionnaires. Before the data collection schedule, a pre-test was arranged over the phone with the local leader for more standardization. The collected data were processed and analyzed following proper statistical procedures. All collected data were compiled and analyzed using MS Excel (Microsoft Excel) Software. Research findings Socio-economic and demographic features The Basic demographic features of the survey of flood-affected people were presented in Table 1. A total of 60 respondents from 60 families were interviewed for the study. It was observed that the highest number of respondents was from the Muslim community and it was 90 percent and another 10 percent from Hinduism while male and female respondents comprised 80 percent and 20 percent, respectively. The educational status of the surveyed respondents shows that 40 percent were only can sign, 16.67 percent completed their primary education and 6.67 percent secondary education. Among them, 10 percent were totally illiterate. Table-1: Demographic features of the flood-affected people Parameter Number Percentage Sex Male 48 80.00 Female 12 20.00 Religion Islam 54 90.00 Hinduism 06 10.00 Educational status Class ten - Above 04 06.67 Class six - Ten 10 16.67 Class one - Five 16 26.67 Only can sign 24 40.00 Illiterate 06 10.00 Number of family members 12 − 7 16 26.66 7 − 5 09 15.00 5 − 3 30 50.00 < 3 05 08.33 Monthly family income 13 21.66 In terms of family members, it was recorded that 50% family had 3–5 members, 15 percent had 5–7 members, 26.66 percent had 7–12 members and 8.33 percent had a small family member like 3 or less than 3. 65 percent families had their monthly income from 8000BDT to 12000BDT, 13.22 percent had below 8000BDT and 21.66 percent had their income above 12000BDT. Status of house and drinking water before and after the flood Flood destroyed properties and damaged roads, culverts, bridges, embankments, and boats. Under these circumstances, common people could not find their own house as well as pure drinking of water. About 47 percent of respondents who had semi Paka (Break & Tin made) house before the flood but now the percentage is 35. So the flood disaster made them lose their actual house. On the other hand, the house-made from Tin, wood & bamboo remained same and it was 30 percent. Before flood, 10 percent of families lived in Kure Ghar (Hut), but after the flood, the situation was 15 percent. Flood is always a big reason for changing the ownership of affected people. Before flood, about 68 percent of people lived in their own house but after flood they lost their property and 6 percent of people lose their own house and were forced to live in others houses. Table-2: Status of house and drinking water before and after the flood • Types of house Before flood (%) After flood (%) Kure Ghor (Hut) 10 15 Katcha (mud, tin, bamboo) 13 20 Tin, wood & bamboo made 30 30 Semi-Paka (break & tin) 47 35 • House ownership Own house 68 62 Own house on other’s proper 20 22 Other’s house 8 12 Others 3 5 • Sources of you drinking water Own tube well 13 10 Other’s tube well 15 17 Community tube well 68 72 Other’s 2 3 Scarcity of pure drinking water, not only for human beings but also for all living existing’s, is the main problem for the study area. At present the highest portion of the respondents are using the community tube well given by different NGO’s or Governments for the whole community and the percentage is 72. About 17 percent of respondents’ use another tube well and it was 15 percent before the flood. There were no respondents who used pond, river, or other water sources except tube well for drinking purposes. About 84 percent of respondents mentioned that they preserved food and pure drinking water before rainy days. Maximum respondents had said they have to face water problems. To overcome this situation, they used water purifying tablets and boiled water while flooding the village area. Md Abdul Hai (40), a non-government high school teacher from Rupchandrapur village, commented that: In the period of flood, the price of food and other essentials get very high. We usually use tube- well water as the source of drinking water. But the tube-well was sunk by the dirty water during. So we had to collect water from a long distance and sometimes failed to collect it. In flood time, our kitchen as well as toilet was also sunk. So our personal hygiene gets affected and we failed to maintain our health issues. Livelihood problems found In regards to the question of problems faced during floods, they mentioned several problems faced as inhabitants of flood-affected areas ( Graph 1 ). The majority of the respondents that were 85 percent mentioned inadequate food was the main problem for them during the flood. They mentioned women and children, domestic animal and older people are the main victims of the flood. About 60 percent of respondents replied children are suffering much in flood time, 15 percent mentioned common people and 12 percent mentioned the middle-class people suffer much during flood time. About 84 percent respondents of the study said food poisoning is the major problem they had to face during the flood. Md Halim Mia (56), a day labourer from Rupchandrapur village, commented that: My second youngest daughter was pregnant. She was just waiting for the day of her new baby born. One day morning, I found flood water around our dwelling. Within a few hours, it became knee-deep. On that day, it was raining heavily. The weather was very wet and hazardous. It was a day of big disaster for my family, but my daughter gave birth to a boy in the evening. It is observed in Graph 2 that the Hoar area of Bangladesh flood always brings several diseases among affected people. Regarding diseases grow up about 90 percent of respondents replied that mainly Diarrhoea and skin disease grow up during the flood. Some were mentioned about fever, Cholera, Dysentery etc. Most of the respondents of the study noticed Government and NGOs must take the proper steps to solve the problem. They also mentioned it is occurred by nature, so we cannot remove it. But we can reduce losses. Firstly they prescribed Government as their guardian. Side by side, they also mentioned NGO’s and other organizations that are related to this. About 47 percent mentioned Government and 35 percent mentioned NGO’s should take the proper initiatives. Community perception on causes of flood Flood as a natural disaster, it has various cause for the Haor area in Bangladesh. Causes can be seen as natural as well as human induced. To identify the causes of floods all respondents of the study mentioned increasing rainfall is the main reason. About 78 percent of the respondents said about big water flow that comes from India which creates flood and most of the respondents agreed on this point. Graph 3 shows sea level rise is an issue for causing floods in the Haor area and 53 percent mentioned it. Rather than some of them mentioned that unplanned damp, lacking proper drainage systems, a decrease in river navigability and deforestation are the reason for floods in the Haor area. About 43 percent of respondents ( Graph 4 ) mentioned that man-made activities are also responsible for creating floods and 33 percent mentioned negatively. The main reason for man-made activities they mentioned was the rise of CO2 and percent was 48. About 23 percent mentioned deforestation and some considered global warming and 13 percent of them have no idea about it. Income generating activities during food The survey found that the respondents had four types of occupation as their income-generating activities during food. A large number of respondents mentioned agriculture as their main occupations that are followed by table-3. Among them, 73 percent were from agriculture, followed by teaching 13 percent. It is important to note that only 3 percent of respondents were engaged in day laborer and 10 percent were in service-oriented private works. In terms of female participation in income generation in the flood-affected area: they mentioned some income-generating activities usually women do during flood. These are household activities, agricultural work and taking care of livestock, food preparation, milking cows and goats, repairing houses etc. Table 3: Occupational status of the flood-affected people Occupational status Number Percentage Agriculture 44 73 Teaching 08 13 Private 06 10 Day Laborer 2 3 They mentioned some issues that hamper their economic life brutally. These: living infrastructure damage, road infrastructure damage, damage of crops, loss of livestock, price hike, damage to property, human life loss, and destructions of trees. Discussing the impact on the economic condition during flood they had focused mainly one point and that was employment opportunity. The main occupation of the study area was agriculture. They had to live based on land. During the flood, they had to lead unemployed life. It was a big obstacle to increasing their income as well as forming their standard livelihood and sustainable development. Preparedness for the effect of flood To know about their preparedness to develop that condition of life to a satisfying standard, most of the respondents told about making awareness of common people of Haor area is very important. People are not much literate, so that they do not know what or how to do it. The specified information supply and advocacy related activities can help the local people against flood. About 70 percent ( Graph-5 ) replied awareness building is very necessary. Some of them mentioned helping the common people physically and a few mentioned helping them economically. Haor is an extremely disaster-prone area because they have to face it very frequently. So they take it as part and parcel of daily life. As they are poor, they have to seek assistance from the Government or other institutions. In regarding steps taken to improve the situation better, about 52 percent ( Graph-6 ) of respondents expected as Government and 40 percent expected NGO’s to take more effective steps for making a good condition against flood. They also specified some emergency needs like making awareness, tree plantation, improving transport system that Government should take care of it. Few respondents mentioned local people could take initiatives for the betterment of the situation, but no one mentioned civil societies could help them regarding any issue like awareness-building programs or else. Rehabilitation program The rehabilitation program of flood-affected people is always essential for developing countries like Bangladesh especially in the Haor area. Most of the people of that village don’t know about the rehabilitation program clearly. About 7 percent of respondents ( Graph-7 ) mentioned they have no idea regarding rehabilitation program and another 93 percent said they know about it. About the rehabilitation, 36 percent respondents mentioned re-building of a destroyed house is important for their rehabilitation, 34 percent mentioned repairing broken road and 27 percent mentioned supply of food and pure drinking water is essential for the rehabilitation. Among them, only 4 percent have no idea about rehabilitation, as mentioned. Regarding the limitation of the rehabilitations program, 68 percent of respondents mentioned limited resources was the main reason against rehabilitations and 23 percent mentioned common people ignorance. To establish their rehabilitation effective replied some issues like upgrading of the transportation system, creating more employment opportunities, electricity availability, availability of health facility etc. To enhance the situation better, they mentioned some points that the Government and NGO’s may take care of. These are emergency supply of food, raising fund, supply of drinking water, relief, media support, emergency house repairing and the establishment and repair damp. For long term rehabilitation, they emphasized creating employment opportunities, house and road construction and repairing after the flood. Community based disaster management Livelihood activities of people are based on the resources and opportunities of the Haor area. Livelihood activities of this area are related to agricultural crop production, fishing on animal farming activities etc. Because of their livelihood pattern, they try to manage disasters together. For managing flood disasters, a large number of respondents (70%) mentioned that awareness-building programs are very important so that they can be aware before the flood. They usually take special care of their children and livestock. In Haor, they are very much dependents on natural resources like fishing in the Haor, collection and preservation of cow dung and dry weeds, collection of food for the livestock eyes. They replied for an assistant from Government and NGO’s side so that they can survive and cope with a natural disaster like a flood. About 52 percent of respondents expected as Government and 40 percent expected NGO’s to take more effective steps for taking care of their community life to protect flood. They mentioned some activities usually women do during the flood as their participation to make a community strong against flood. These are household activities, agricultural work and taking care of livestock, food preparation, milking cows and goats, repairing houses etc. About 35 percent of the respondents mentioned that they usually keep their children out from dirty water as well as from wastes during the flood to protect their children safe. Consider improving the standard of their family members 32 percent mentioned increasing education facilities and 40 percent mentioned improving health facilities from the government side. Limitations This study was conducted in a Haor-based rural area. For my study, it found some real limitations. Most of the people are illiterate, and very few know the real scenario of the flood or any kind of disaster. So it was one of the limitations of the study. Their transportation system was very poor, and sometimes failed to reach where expected to go. Another big issue was the COVID-2019 pandemic, for which data collection was hampered. Considering all the issues, this study was finally conducted successfully. Discussion and recommendation Netrokona district is commonly recognized for being one of the biggest wetlands in the country. It is located in the northern phase of Bangladesh, close to the Meghalayan border (Wikipedia, 2021). This study reveals the livelihood of flood-affected families of the Haor area in Netrokona that is significantly vulnerable than the normal time. The flood affects their infrastructure, livestock and agricultural production, communication system and the whole thing each year. However, their understanding and training status towards this hazard is not so strong due to their weak economic status and geographic location. For example, not IRRI, Boro is the most important agricultural product for the local habitats. (Rabby et al., 2011 ). The impression of the floods on the poor is more significant than others, specifically these dwelling in low-lying flood-prone Haor areas. This study unravels that floods have an extreme effect on the low-income habitants of Haor by cutting down the earnings and turning most of them into day laborers and jobless during the flood. This supports the findings of (Abedin and Khatun, 2019 ) and Johnson ( 2006 ) that flash floods make people vulnerable; by taking away their property. To cope with this situation, with the submergence of the nearby educational institutions, the students from the poor households also turned to seasonal fisher. The role of women during and after a flash flood is measureless. Women and children of the study area, especially female household heads, suffer much. This study painted their actual conditions like women and children, domestic animals and older people are the main victims of the flood. About 60 percent of respondents replied children are suffering much during flood time, 15 percent mentioned common people, and 12 percent mentioned the middle-class people suffer much during flood time. These by Khatun ( 2005 ) and Nasreen ( 2004 ) women and children are the most vulnerable when disaster has stricken them. Due to property and agricultural loss, family heads and households undertake alternative livelihoods, making short periods pass to different areas by taking deposits from NGOs, relatives, and local money lenders. Therefore, people have to be more conscious of the alternative flood management approaches. There has been too many false impressions and a lack of understanding about various aspects of this issue. The Government ought to open up this difficulty for extensive public discussion. People with the right ideas and with only greater interests of the country in mind will have to take part in this discussion. On the basis of findings, some effective and strong recommendations that will make a good condition to improve the livelihood pattern of flood-affected families are given below: Government should increase their manpower to enhance disaster risk management; To conduct regular survey on the demand for water, coping strategies and choice of alternative sources; Female participation in disaster management is important, so it must increase; Media participation should be positive to improve their livelihood; Government and NGOs collaborate on their rehabilitation program; To familiarize handmade movable cooking stove, collection of firewood and cow dung for cooking; Conclusion Haor people are poor, less educated and vulnerable. They are mostly derived from all opportunities from the Government. They are indigent and helpless. Although there was no prescription from the Government and policymakers, Haor people always remained excluded from the mainstream. With their limited resources, they are trying to survive and contribute to the nation by crop production. The role of women’s are always invisible, but this study found that women’s role during and after the flood are variegated like house care, food processing, agricultural, milking cows and goats and taking care of livestock etc. Recommendations from this study may take care of all responsible authorities to create a better habitat in the Haor area. We have a dream line for Bangladesh like vision 2021, SDG’s 2030, vision 2041 and delta plan 2100. In order to achieve those all, it is inevitable to provide additional focus on the Haor community and its resources. Declarations Acknowledgement The authors would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to Md. Juel Mia, Assistant Professor, Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerable Studies (IDMVS), University of Dhaka, for his invaluable support throughout the research process. Special acknowledgment goes to the respondents, from whom data were collected for their active participation and cooperation in this study. Data Availability Statement The data that support the findings of this study are fully available and can be obtained from the corresponding author, Md Sirajul Islam, upon request. Funding Statement No specific funding was received for this study. Conflict of Interest Disclosure The authors declare no conflict of interest. Ethics Approval Statement : This study was approved by the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies Research Ethics Committee (IDMVS-REC), University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. References Abedin J, Billah MM, Akter H (2018) The socioeconomic status and land use pattern: A micro-level analysis in Bangladesh. 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Int J Agricultural Res Innov Technol, 47 Johnson JD (2006) Natural disaster and vulnerability. OECD Development Center Policy Brief No. 29. OECD Development Center, Berlin, Germany Khatun H (2005) Flood warning and preparedness: Women managing floods in Bangladesh. In: Ahsan RM, Ahmad N, Khatun H (eds) Gender geography: A reader, Bangladesh perspective. Bangladesh Geographical Society, pp 285–304 Rahman AA, Huq S, Reddy A, Alam M, Kabir SA (eds) (2001) State of the environment: Bangladesh 2001. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Nasreen M (2004) Coping mechanisms of rural women in Bangladesh during floods: A gender perspective. In: Ahsan RM, Khatun H (eds) Disaster and the silent gender: Contemporary studies in geography. Bangladesh Geographical Society, pp 335–346 Del Ninno C, Dorosh PA, Smith LC, Roy DK (2001) The 1998 floods in Bangladesh: Disaster impacts, household coping strategies, and response. Research Report of the International Food Policy Research Institute Graphs Graphs 1 to 6 are available in the Supplementary Files section Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files Graphs.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6440994","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":442360784,"identity":"0488e398-49ee-4655-bf04-66d4dbc6d81e","order_by":0,"name":"Md Sirajul Islam","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAsklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZuYDIBLCZmAjSgtbAqlaGHgMSNTC387z7cHPHdYM8u49BswFZURokTjMu92w90w6g+GZMwbMM84R467DvNskeNsOMxjOSEtg5m0jQof8YZ5nkn9J0mJwmIdNGmSLvETyAeK0GB5mM5OWPZPOY8Bz+MBhovwid/7wM8m3O6zl5NsbGx8TFWJgwNgAjJ0DDAwHiNUA1sIg30C8+lEwCkbBKBhhAADN8DDSTrFe8wAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"National Academy for Planning and Development, Dhaka, Bangladesh","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Md","middleName":"Sirajul","lastName":"Islam","suffix":""},{"id":442360785,"identity":"59fc7021-36b6-4d30-8bf5-31df10c8a4ce","order_by":1,"name":"Sabiha Afrin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Begum Badrunnessa Govt. Girls’ College, Dhaka, Bangladesh","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sabiha","middleName":"","lastName":"Afrin","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-13 20:28:38","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6440994/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6440994/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":80820953,"identity":"ba43511d-c4b8-4fc3-ab6d-39630a32bac5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-17 12:08:51","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":103445,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMap showing the geographical location of the study area in Atpara Upazila, Netrokona\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6440994/v1/c9d3ddba8ea661ccd9921c6e.png"},{"id":80821348,"identity":"cd24bdd2-4b97-4dfe-8464-be1b5f2a034a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-17 12:16:51","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":853401,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6440994/v1/4e449fce-c9c8-4b5b-9344-80022eacdce1.pdf"},{"id":80820037,"identity":"cb8dd9a2-0e30-4179-916e-8bb36982a9c7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-17 12:00:51","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":44692,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Graphs.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6440994/v1/a34820f0ea532ef42cd63878.docx"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExploring the Livelihood of the Flood Affected Families: A Study in the Haor Area of Netrokona, Bangladesh\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe South Asian nation of Bangladesh is inclined to the natural catastrophe of flooding due to being located on the Ganges Delta and the many tributaries flowing into the Bay of Bengal. Here, about two-thirds of the whole land is categorized as wetlands, which have been estimated at seven to eight million hectares (Rahman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). The coastal flooding twinned with the bursting of Bangladesh's riverbanks is frequent and severely influences the panorama and Bangladeshi society. About 75 percent of Bangladesh is much less than 10 meters above sea level, and 80 percent is flood-undeniable. The convectional rainfall of the monsoon is brought about by the rainfall precipitated by way of the Himalayas. Melt water from the Himalayas is additionally a sizable enter and flood each year. Every 12 months in Bangladesh, about 26,000 km\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e (around 18%) of the land of the country is flooded, killing over 5,000 human beings and destroying 7\u0026nbsp;million houses (Arun, 2008). From March to September in an ordinary year, the residents of Bangladesh are the most efficient to foremost flooding, as a combination of the monsoon and the rising of most of the rivers and their tributaries attain their top as the snow begins to melt and the rain starts to pour.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWidespread flooding in Bangladesh, as considered in 1988, 1998, and 1991, has triggered widespread destruction. The financial improvement of the rural sphere is mostly intertwined, as each year, the populace loses property and livelihood. South Asian people, 70 percent of whom live in rural areas, additionally account for 75 percent of the poor, most of whom depend on agriculture for their livelihood (Ninno et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). Each year, they are disproportionately affected by the results of local weather change. Two catastrophes alone, Bangladesh cyclone 1997 and cyclone Sidr-2007, cost the nation around a quarter of a million of its residents. There are serious concerns about mitigating the consequences of climate change and investing in the capacity building of each system component to secure the future of this country.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFloods are the most common hazards in Bangladesh. Almost every year, they have to prepare for this disaster. It is more or less a recurring phenomenon in Bangladesh. Occasionally, it becomes divesting. During the rainy season, when the water exceeds the holding capacity of rivers, canals, Beels, and Haors, low-lying areas inundate the whole area, causing damage to crops, homelands, roads, and other properties. The livelihood of flooded families in the Haor area of Netrokona district in Bangladesh is affected and destroyed by floods almost every year. During the flood and after that, they face different sorts of harmful problems, which are the main drawbacks of their improvement. It is exigent to find out their problems and solve them as soon as possible. Many international, national, and local NGOs are working on this issue. Moreover, policymakers have given importance to indigenous skills and knowledge to solve their problems and promote sustainable development in recent times. This article attempts to provide an enriched document on the livelihood of flood-affected people in Netrokona district. I hope we can get proper suggestions or advice from this article to reduce the flood damages and launch a rehabilitation program.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eObjectives of the Study\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe general objective of the study is to know the livelihood dynamics of flooded families in the Haor area of Bangladesh. In light of this general objective, some special objectives are taken-\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo identify their understanding about flood and their vulnerability of the Hoar area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo know about their preparedness and the rehabilitation programs to rehabilitate flood-affected people.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e "},{"header":"Literature Review","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta and the hundred and thirty million people residing in Bangladesh face a serious challenge (Ali, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1999\u003c/span\u003e). While delta growth is striving to maintain peace with nearby sea-level rise, humans are again and again confronted by natural and human-made catastrophes such as cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes, riverbank erosion, surface and groundwater pollution, air pollution, droughts, wetland loss, coastal erosion, and floods. While some of these environmental degradations are not immediately associated with human things and land-use practices (such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and cyclones), others are related to human interactions with nature. Flooding is one such water-related environmental hassle, the magnitude of which is a lot dependent on land-use practices in the watershed of every river or stream.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRevering floods happen when the quantity of runoff originating in a watershed exceeds the carrying capacity of the natural and built drainage systems. Flooding can happen due to river overflow or surface runoff. There are two kinds of floods in Bangladesh: annual floods that inundate up to 20% of the land area and low-frequency floods of excessive magnitude that inundate greater than 35% of the area (Abedin and Khatun, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Overall, in Bangladesh, especially in the Haor area, floods hamper their day-to-day lives. It is very much related to the livelihood of the Haor area damaged by the extreme flood. Flash floods and seasonal floods made their livelihood patterns difficult. The government places extreme significance on planning and improvement measures as a significant part of its overall strategic approach to adaptation to local weather change and flood threat management, constructing upon its long-standing acknowledgement of flooding in its rules as an essential planning issue. We have to be conscious of the places we live or work, in particular those that are in low-lying areas, hilly areas, Haor areas, etc. At the community level, flash floods make them extremely vulnerable. As the flash flood occurred, it grasped all the vegetation in the Haor basin at first glance, and the ultimate sufferers were the farmer and his household. Apart from the farmer, there are different vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, children, women, elderly residents, etc.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe livelihood pattern of the Haor area is not the same as in other areas. Their accommodation, education, family members, food habits, etc., are far different and lower than the average area of Bangladesh. The education facility and willingness to learn are still beyond the expected line. Dropout is the major problem here. Before the completion of their primary education, they are usually involved in income-generating activities. In the Haor area, they have gradually improved their livelihood. The scenario was not the same before and after ten years. The inhabitants who had tin, wood, and bamboo-made houses before ten years used semi-paka houses (Ali, 2005).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the Haor area, flash floods often damage housing infrastructure. The direct consequences of flash floods include the submerging of houses, the loss and injury of physical property, and the risks associated with the rise in water levels. People generally sell different belongings to rebuild broken houses, like farming or non-farming land, bulls, woody trees, household utensils, etc. This creates a vicious poverty circle as they lose one kind of asset to recover from different types of asset loss or damage. To keep the plants and cultivate their belongings, people adopted some instant techniques, such as early sowing, early harvesting, cutting near-rip crops before the early flash flood, and cutting as many crops as possible during the flash flood (Abedin and Khatun, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). To improve livelihood conditions, support from the different organizations during natural disasters\u0026rsquo; is most important. Credit facilities provided by the government can help to improve livelihoods. Respondents considered upgrading transportation; a fixed lease market is needed to enhance livelihood supports, mainly the respondents related to fishing supports that support providing an instrument for fishing can improve their livelihood. In the Haor area, most of the inhabitants heard about climate change issues, but not all.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Research Methodology","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStudy Area\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Bangladesh, the Haor area is found in the districts of Netrokona, Kishorgonj, and Sunamgonj. This study considered Netrakona district as the major part of Haor situated here. This study was conducted on villages named Rupchandarapur and Madon located in Atpara Upazila under Netrakona district. This village is located in the northeastern part of Bangladesh, with coordinates of about 25.46 N latitudes and 90.52 E longitudes (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). Noteworthy, the villages are elected purposively for the convenience of the investigation. This study was conducted in January\u0026ndash;September 2021 in the study area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePopulation and sampling\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are about 300 families in the two villages mentioned. All family heads in the selected area are considered the population of this study, and each of the family members is also considered the unit of analysis. This study was based on a sample survey method of social research. About 20 percent of family heads were randomly selected from the two villages the case study method is used in this study for an in-depth study and a better understanding of the study problem.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTechniques of the Data Collection\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStructured surveys was administered to family members of the household for collecting data. About 60 family heads were randomly selected from the two villages. A main street was randomly selected within the 2 villages, and then a residential side street was selected that intersects the main street. Finally, an interviewer knocked on the selected household door to collect data with structured questionnaires. Before the data collection schedule, a pre-test was arranged over the phone with the local leader for more standardization. The collected data were processed and analyzed following proper statistical procedures. All collected data were compiled and analyzed using MS Excel (Microsoft Excel) Software.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eResearch findings\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSocio-economic and demographic features\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Basic demographic features of the survey of flood-affected people were presented in Table\u0026nbsp;1. A total of 60 respondents from 60 families were interviewed for the study. It was observed that the highest number of respondents was from the Muslim community and it was 90 percent and another 10 percent from Hinduism while male and female respondents comprised 80 percent and 20 percent, respectively. The educational status of the surveyed respondents shows that 40 percent were only can sign, 16.67 percent completed their primary education and 6.67 percent secondary education. Among them, 10 percent were totally illiterate.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable-1: Demographic features of the flood-affected people\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"No\" id=\"Taba\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParameter\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSex\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e80.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReligion\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIslam\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHinduism\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEducational status\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eClass ten - Above\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e06.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eClass six - Ten\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eClass one - Five\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOnly can sign\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIlliterate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNumber of family members\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e08.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMonthly family income\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;8000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8000\u0026ndash;12000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e65.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12000 \u0026gt;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of family members, it was recorded that 50% family had 3\u0026ndash;5 members, 15 percent had 5\u0026ndash;7 members, 26.66 percent had 7\u0026ndash;12 members and 8.33 percent had a small family member like 3 or less than 3. 65 percent families had their monthly income from 8000BDT to 12000BDT, 13.22 percent had below 8000BDT and 21.66 percent had their income above 12000BDT.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eStatus of house and drinking water before and after the flood\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFlood destroyed properties and damaged roads, culverts, bridges, embankments, and boats. Under these circumstances, common people could not find their own house as well as pure drinking of water. About 47 percent of respondents who had semi Paka (Break \u0026amp; Tin made) house before the flood but now the percentage is 35. So the flood disaster made them lose their actual house. On the other hand, the house-made from Tin, wood \u0026amp; bamboo remained same and it was 30 percent. Before flood, 10 percent of families lived in Kure Ghar (Hut), but after the flood, the situation was 15 percent.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFlood is always a big reason for changing the ownership of affected people. Before flood, about 68 percent of people lived in their own house but after flood they lost their property and 6 percent of people lose their own house and were forced to live in others houses.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"colspec\"\u003eTable-2: Status of house and drinking water before and after the flood\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tabb\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; Types of house\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBefore flood (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAfter flood (%)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eKure Ghor (Hut)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eKatcha (mud, tin, bamboo)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTin, wood \u0026amp; bamboo made\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSemi-Paka (break \u0026amp; tin)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e47\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; \u003cstrong\u003eHouse ownership\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOwn house\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e68\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e62\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOwn house on other\u0026rsquo;s proper\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOther\u0026rsquo;s house\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOthers\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026bull; \u003cstrong\u003eSources of you drinking water\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOwn tube well\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOther\u0026rsquo;s tube well\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCommunity tube well\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e68\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOther\u0026rsquo;s\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScarcity of pure drinking water, not only for human beings but also for all living existing\u0026rsquo;s, is the main problem for the study area. At present the highest portion of the respondents are using the community tube well given by different NGO\u0026rsquo;s or Governments for the whole community and the percentage is 72. About 17 percent of respondents\u0026rsquo; use another tube well and it was 15 percent before the flood. There were no respondents who used pond, river, or other water sources except tube well for drinking purposes. About 84 percent of respondents mentioned that they preserved food and pure drinking water before rainy days. Maximum respondents had said they have to face water problems. To overcome this situation, they used water purifying tablets and boiled water while flooding the village area. Md Abdul Hai (40), a non-government high school teacher from Rupchandrapur village, commented that:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIn the period of flood, the price of food and other essentials get very high. We usually use tube- well water as the source of drinking water. But the tube-well was sunk by the dirty water during. So we had to collect water from a long distance and sometimes failed to collect it. In flood time, our kitchen as well as toilet was also sunk. So our personal hygiene gets affected and we failed to maintain our health issues.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eLivelihood problems found\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIn regards to the question of problems faced during floods, they mentioned several problems faced as inhabitants of flood-affected areas (\u003cem\u003eGraph 1\u003c/em\u003e). The majority of the respondents that were 85 percent mentioned inadequate food was the main problem for them during the flood. They mentioned women and children, domestic animal and older people are the main victims of the flood. About 60 percent of respondents replied children are suffering much in flood time, 15 percent mentioned common people and 12 percent mentioned the middle-class people suffer much during flood time. About 84 percent respondents of the study said food poisoning is the major problem they had to face during the flood. Md Halim Mia (56), a day labourer from Rupchandrapur village, commented that:\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMy second youngest daughter was pregnant. She was just waiting for the day of her new baby born. One day morning, I found flood water around our dwelling. Within a few hours, it became knee-deep. On that day, it was raining heavily. The weather was very wet and hazardous. It was a day of big disaster for my family, but my daughter gave birth to a boy in the evening.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIt is observed in Graph 2\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003ethat the Hoar area of Bangladesh flood always brings several diseases among affected people. Regarding diseases grow up about 90 percent of respondents replied that mainly Diarrhoea and skin disease grow up during the flood. \u0026nbsp;Some were mentioned about fever, Cholera, Dysentery etc. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMost of the respondents of the study noticed Government and NGOs must take the proper steps to solve the problem. They also mentioned it is occurred by nature, so we cannot remove it. But we can reduce losses. Firstly they prescribed Government as their guardian. Side by side, they also mentioned NGO\u0026rsquo;s and other organizations that are related to this. About 47 percent mentioned Government and 35 percent mentioned NGO\u0026rsquo;s should take the proper initiatives.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eCommunity perception on causes of flood\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFlood as a natural disaster, it has various cause for the Haor area in Bangladesh. Causes can be seen as natural as well as human induced. To identify the causes of floods all respondents of the study mentioned increasing rainfall is the main reason. About 78 percent of the respondents said about big water flow that comes from India which creates flood and most of the respondents agreed on this point.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGraph 3 shows sea level rise is an issue for causing floods in the Haor area and 53 percent mentioned it. Rather than some of them mentioned that unplanned damp, lacking proper drainage systems, a decrease in river navigability and deforestation are the reason for floods in the Haor area.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\"\u003eAbout 43 percent of respondents (\u003cem\u003eGraph 4\u003c/em\u003e) mentioned that man-made activities are also responsible for creating floods and 33 percent mentioned negatively. \u0026nbsp; The main reason for man-made activities they mentioned was the rise of CO2 and percent was 48. About 23 percent mentioned deforestation and some considered global warming and 13 percent of them have no idea about it.\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eIncome generating activities during food\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe survey found that the respondents had four types of occupation as their income-generating activities during food. A large number of respondents mentioned agriculture as their main occupations that are followed by table-3. Among them, 73 percent were from agriculture, followed by teaching 13 percent. It is important to note that only 3 percent of respondents were engaged in day laborer and 10 percent were in service-oriented private works. In terms of female participation in income generation in the flood-affected area: they mentioned some income-generating activities usually women do during flood. These are household activities, agricultural work and taking care of livestock, food preparation, milking cows and goats, repairing houses etc.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"colspec\"\u003eTable 3: Occupational status of the flood-affected people\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tabf\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOccupational status\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNumber\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePercentage\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAgriculture\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e73\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTeaching\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePrivate\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDay Laborer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThey mentioned some issues that hamper their economic life brutally. These: living infrastructure damage, road infrastructure damage, damage of crops, loss of livestock, price hike, damage to property, human life loss, and destructions of trees. Discussing the impact on the economic condition during flood they had focused mainly one point and that was employment opportunity. The main occupation of the study area was agriculture. They had to live based on land. During the flood, they had to lead unemployed life. It was a big obstacle to increasing their income as well as forming their standard livelihood and sustainable development.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003ePreparedness for the effect of flood\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTo know about their preparedness to develop that condition of life to a satisfying standard, most of the respondents told about making awareness of common people of Haor area is very important. People are not much literate, so that they do not know what or how to do it. The specified information supply and advocacy related activities can help the local people against flood.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAbout 70 percent (\u003cem\u003eGraph-5\u003c/em\u003e) replied awareness building is very necessary. Some of them mentioned helping the common people physically and a few mentioned helping them economically.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHaor is an extremely disaster-prone area because they have to face it very frequently. So they take it as part and parcel of daily life. As they are poor, they have to seek assistance from the Government or other institutions. In regarding steps taken to improve the situation better, about 52 percent (\u003cem\u003eGraph-6\u003c/em\u003e) of respondents expected as Government and 40 percent expected NGO\u0026rsquo;s to take more effective steps for making a good condition against flood. They also specified some emergency needs like making awareness, tree plantation, improving transport system that Government should take care of it.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFew \u0026nbsp; respondents mentioned local people could take initiatives for the betterment of the situation, but no one mentioned civil societies could help them regarding any issue like awareness-building programs or else.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eRehabilitation program\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe rehabilitation program of flood-affected people is always essential for developing countries like Bangladesh especially in the Haor area. Most of the people of that village don\u0026rsquo;t know about the rehabilitation program clearly. About 7 percent of respondents (\u003cem\u003eGraph-7\u003c/em\u003e) mentioned they have no idea regarding rehabilitation program and another 93 percent said they know about it. About the rehabilitation, 36 percent respondents mentioned re-building of a destroyed house is important for their rehabilitation, 34 percent mentioned repairing broken road and 27 percent mentioned supply of food and pure drinking water is essential for the rehabilitation. Among them, only 4 percent have no idea about rehabilitation, as mentioned.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eRegarding the limitation of the rehabilitations program, 68 percent of respondents mentioned limited resources was the main reason against rehabilitations and 23 percent mentioned common people ignorance. To establish their rehabilitation effective replied some issues like upgrading of the transportation system, creating more employment opportunities, electricity availability, availability of health facility etc. To enhance the situation better, they mentioned some points that the Government and NGO\u0026rsquo;s may take care of. These are emergency supply of food, raising fund, supply of drinking water, relief, media support, emergency house repairing and the establishment and repair damp. For long term rehabilitation, they emphasized creating employment opportunities, house and road construction and repairing after the flood.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eCommunity based disaster management\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLivelihood activities of people are based on the resources and opportunities of the Haor area. Livelihood activities of this area are related to agricultural crop production, fishing on animal farming activities etc. Because of their livelihood pattern, they try to manage disasters together. For managing flood disasters, a large number of respondents (70%) mentioned that awareness-building programs are very important so that they can be aware before the flood. They usually take special care of their children and livestock.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIn Haor, they are very much dependents on natural resources like fishing in the Haor, collection and preservation of cow dung and dry weeds, collection of food for the livestock eyes. They replied for an assistant from Government and NGO\u0026rsquo;s side so that they can survive and cope with a natural disaster like a flood. About 52 percent of respondents expected as Government and 40 percent expected NGO\u0026rsquo;s to take more effective steps for taking care of their community life to protect flood.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThey mentioned some activities usually women do during the flood as their participation to make a community strong against flood. These are household activities, agricultural work and taking care of livestock, food preparation, milking cows and goats, repairing houses etc. About 35 percent of the respondents mentioned that they usually keep their children out from dirty water as well as from wastes during the flood to protect their children safe. Consider improving the standard of their family members 32 percent mentioned increasing education facilities and 40 percent mentioned improving health facilities from the government side.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eLimitations\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThis study was conducted in a Haor-based rural area. For my study, it found some real limitations. Most of the people are illiterate, and very few know the real scenario of the flood or any kind of disaster. So it was one of the limitations of the study. Their transportation system was very poor, and sometimes failed to reach where expected to go. Another big issue was the COVID-2019 pandemic, for which data collection was hampered. Considering all the issues, this study was finally conducted successfully.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion and recommendation","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNetrokona district is commonly recognized for being one of the biggest wetlands in the country. It is located in the northern phase of Bangladesh, close to the Meghalayan border (Wikipedia, 2021). This study reveals the livelihood of flood-affected families of the Haor area in Netrokona that is significantly vulnerable than the normal time. The flood affects their infrastructure, livestock and agricultural production, communication system and the whole thing each year. However, their understanding and training status towards this hazard is not so strong due to their weak economic status and geographic location. For example, not IRRI, Boro is the most important agricultural product for the local habitats. (Rabby et al., \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe impression of the floods on the poor is more significant than others, specifically these dwelling in low-lying flood-prone Haor areas. This study unravels that floods have an extreme effect on the low-income habitants of Haor by cutting down the earnings and turning most of them into day laborers and jobless during the flood. This supports the findings of (Abedin and Khatun, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and Johnson (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e) that flash floods make people vulnerable; by taking away their property. To cope with this situation, with the submergence of the nearby educational institutions, the students from the poor households also turned to seasonal fisher.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe role of women during and after a flash flood is measureless. Women and children of the study area, especially female household heads, suffer much. This study painted their actual conditions like women and children, domestic animals and older people are the main victims of the flood. About 60 percent of respondents replied children are suffering much during flood time, 15 percent mentioned common people, and 12 percent mentioned the middle-class people suffer much during flood time. These by Khatun (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e) and Nasreen (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e) women and children are the most vulnerable when disaster has stricken them.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDue to property and agricultural loss, family heads and households undertake alternative livelihoods, making short periods pass to different areas by taking deposits from NGOs, relatives, and local money lenders. Therefore, people have to be more conscious of the alternative flood management approaches. There has been too many false impressions and a lack of understanding about various aspects of this issue. The Government ought to open up this difficulty for extensive public discussion. People with the right ideas and with only greater interests of the country in mind will have to take part in this discussion.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOn the basis of findings, some effective and strong recommendations that will make a good condition to improve the livelihood pattern of flood-affected families are given below:\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGovernment should increase their manpower to enhance disaster risk management;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTo conduct regular survey on the demand for water, coping strategies and choice of alternative sources;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFemale participation in disaster management is important, so it must increase;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMedia participation should be positive to improve their livelihood;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGovernment and NGOs collaborate on their rehabilitation program;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTo familiarize handmade movable cooking stove, collection of firewood and cow dung for cooking;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eHaor people are poor, less educated and vulnerable. They are mostly derived from all opportunities from the Government. They are indigent and helpless. Although there was no prescription from the Government and policymakers, Haor people always remained excluded from the mainstream. With their limited resources, they are trying to survive and contribute to the nation by crop production. The role of women\u0026rsquo;s are always invisible, but this study found that women\u0026rsquo;s role during and after the flood are variegated like house care, food processing, agricultural, milking cows and goats and taking care of livestock etc. Recommendations from this study may take care of all responsible authorities to create a better habitat in the Haor area. We have a dream line for Bangladesh like vision 2021, SDG\u0026rsquo;s 2030, vision 2041 and delta plan 2100. In order to achieve those all, it is inevitable to provide additional focus on the Haor community and its resources.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to Md. Juel Mia, Assistant Professor, Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerable Studies (IDMVS), University of Dhaka, for his invaluable support throughout the research process. Special acknowledgment goes to the respondents, from whom data were collected for their active participation and cooperation in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData Availability Statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data that support the findings of this study are fully available and can be obtained from the corresponding author, Md Sirajul Islam, upon request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding Statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo specific funding was received for this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflict of Interest Disclosure\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no conflict of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics Approval Statement\u003c/strong\u003e: This study was approved by the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies Research Ethics Committee (IDMVS-REC), University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbedin J, Billah MM, Akter H (2018) The socioeconomic status and land use pattern: A micro-level analysis in Bangladesh. Int J Sciences: Basic Appl Res (IJSBAR) 42(3):185\u0026ndash;194\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbedin J, Khatun H (2019) Impacts of flash flood on livelihood and adaptation strategies of the haor inhabitants: A study in Tanguar Haor of Sunamganj, Bangladesh. Dhaka Univ J Earth Environ Sci, \u003cem\u003e8\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAgrawal A (2008) The role of local institutions in adaptation to climate change. \u003cem\u003eThe Social Development Department, World Bank\u003c/em\u003e, Washington, DC\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAli A (1999) Climate change impacts and adaptation assessment in Bangladesh. \u003cem\u003eClimate Research, 12\u003c/em\u003e. Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARSO), Agargaon, Shere-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAyers J, Forsyth T (2009) Community-based adaptation to climate change: Strengthening resilience through development. Environment 51(4):22\u0026ndash;31\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBanglapedia (2016) Atapara Upazila. \u003cem\u003eBanglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh\u003c/em\u003e. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Retrieved from \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttp://www.banglapedia.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"http://www.banglapedia.org\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBegum Z (1999) Disaster risk management in Bangladesh: An appraisal of manpower. (Master\u0026rsquo;s dissertation). Department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHalder S, Mosley P (2004) Working with the ultra-poor: Learning from BRAC experiences. J Int Dev 16(3):387\u0026ndash;406\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCarter WN (1991) Disaster management: A disaster manager\u0026rsquo;s handbook. Asian Development Bank, Manila\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHossain M (1987) Flood in Bangladesh: Recurrent disasters, people's survival. Dhaka University Research Centre\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRabby TG, Alam GM, Mishra PK, Hoque KE, Nair S (2011) Different economic and policy perspectives in micro population for sustainable development: A study of the haor livelihood in Bangladesh. Afr J Bus Manage 5(6):2475\u0026ndash;2492\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIslam MR, Babu MAH, Uddin MJ, Khatun ML, Islam MS (2020) Investigating the risk and resilience of flash floods in the Sunamgonj Haor region of Bangladesh. Int J Agricultural Res Innov Technol, 47\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJohnson JD (2006) Natural disaster and vulnerability. \u003cem\u003eOECD Development Center Policy Brief No. 29.\u003c/em\u003e OECD Development Center, Berlin, Germany\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKhatun H (2005) Flood warning and preparedness: Women managing floods in Bangladesh. In: Ahsan RM, Ahmad N, Khatun H (eds) Gender geography: A reader, Bangladesh perspective. Bangladesh Geographical Society, pp 285\u0026ndash;304\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRahman AA, Huq S, Reddy A, Alam M, Kabir SA (eds) (2001) State of the environment: Bangladesh 2001. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNasreen M (2004) Coping mechanisms of rural women in Bangladesh during floods: A gender perspective. In: Ahsan RM, Khatun H (eds) Disaster and the silent gender: Contemporary studies in geography. Bangladesh Geographical Society, pp 335\u0026ndash;346\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDel Ninno C, Dorosh PA, Smith LC, Roy DK (2001) The 1998 floods in Bangladesh: Disaster impacts, household coping strategies, and response. Research Report of the International Food Policy Research Institute\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Graphs","content":"\u003cp\u003eGraphs 1 to 6 are available in the Supplementary Files section\u003c/p\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Dhaka","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Haor, livelihood, flood, disaster, family, drinking water","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6440994/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6440994/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe study examines the livelihood of the flood affected families in the Haor area of Netrokona district that is commonly recognized for being one of the most significant wetlands in the country. The study's general purpose is to know the livelihood dynamics of flooded families and the rehabilitation system in the Haor area of Bangladesh. This study used both qualitative and quantitative data. About 60 family heads were randomly selected from the two villages. The survey found four types of occupation as their income-generating activities during food and the main occupation was agriculture. The majority of them mentioned inadequate food was the main problem during the flood. Women and children, domestic animals and older people were the main victims of the flood in the Haor. This study found that women\u0026rsquo;s role during and after the flood are variegated like house care, food processing, agricultural and taking care of livestock etc. Haor people are poor, less educated and vulnerable. With their limited resources, they are trying to survive and contribute to the nation by crops production.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Exploring the Livelihood of the Flood Affected Families: A Study in the Haor Area of Netrokona, Bangladesh","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-04-17 12:00:46","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6440994/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"a59dc606-4da2-4389-ab2e-9f9341a8b568","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 17th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":47093381,"name":"Sociology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-04-17T12:00:46+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-04-17 12:00:46","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6440994","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6440994","identity":"rs-6440994","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}