20 July 2020, Kurigram, Bangladesh - Morjina Begum, 40, hails from Shakhahati village of Chilmari upazila in Kurigram district. She used to live with her husband and her son next to the embankment near the Brahmaputra River, but their house was immersed into the water due to river erosion. Now they received a silo from UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to transport themselves from one place to another whenever the water level gets high. As they were now facing living, sanitation and hygiene problems, the silo helps them to fetch water from sources, as well as other issues. The coronavirus pandemic led a halt to their livelihoods, but they refused to remain idle and starve. ?I have to do something to survive,? she remarked. In an innovative approach to dealing with the effects of severe flooding in Bangladesh, the United Nations is using the latest in data and predictive analytics to forecast the next major monsoon floods, gauge likely impacts ? and take action ? before possible disaster hits.
On 4 July a high probability of severe flooding was forecast for mid-July along the Jamuna River in Bangladesh, with one-third of the area's total population likely to be affected. That warning was the trigger for the UN to immediately release $5.2 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help communities urgently prepare and protect themselves.
The money went to three participating agencies ? the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to enable them to prepare to distribute cash, livestock feed, storage drums, and hygiene, dignity and health kits.