20 July 2020, Kurigram, Bangladesh - Mst Fulbanu Begum hails from Shakhahati village of Chilmari upazila in Kurigram district. A mother of three sons and two daughters, her husband has been ill for a considerable period of time now, forcing their eldest son to look for agricultural work at Konabari in Gazipur. ?My home gets inundated with flood water every year, which poses a huge problem for our hygiene, sanitation and other problems. Our village chairman aided us with 20 kilograms of rice once, taking our details and promising more aid soon. But this aid runs out sooner than expected. Flood makes our lives very difficult.? 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.