A study on the use of cyclone shelters in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is vulnerable to cyclones due to its geographical condition. In 1970, the biggest cyclone caused severe damage and over 300,000 people were killed. Dealing with such situation, the government has been tackling cyclone disaster mitigations, mainly by providing cyclone shelters. Recently BRAC University constructed new type of cyclone shelters in the form of houses named ‘mini shelters’. The research aims to contribute the government’s cyclone mitigation schemes, especially in terms of the proper utilization and the construction of cyclone shelters which can be used in all cyclone prone areas in Bangladesh. The research is conducted in two cyclone affected areas and it is found out that the cyclone shelters are used as temporary living quarters during post-cyclone reconstruction, although they were designed as evacuation centers only for a few hours during the inundation. Moreover, most of cyclone shelters are used as elementary schools in normal time hence some rooms such as storage rooms and staff rooms are locked even during cyclones due to the poor management. It is the lack of consideration of these cyclone shelters to be used as evacuation centers or temporary living quarters. Another finding shows ‘mini shelters’ might be used not only as evacuation center but also as livestock stores during cyclones. Local people doubt the safety of ‘mini shelters’ because the second floor is made of wood and the height is not enough for storm surge. However, ‘mini shelters’ might be useful in remote coastal areas where limited space for cyclone shelters are. Thus, the combination of these two type of cyclone shelters provides more holistic solution to cyclone disaster mitigation.