Humanitarian Response Plan for Cyclone Remal and Monsoon Floods in Bangladesh June-December 2024

Close to 13 million people across 30 percent of the country have been affected by three subsequent climate emergencies this year in Bangladesh.  Cyclone Remal and the subsequent devastating floods in the North-Eastern regions of Bangladesh have affected more than 8.3 million people. One and a half million people have been displaced from their homes and 237,673 houses have been destroyed. As we draft this appeal, the country is also dealing with the flooding of the Jamuna basin. The scale of the needs is still being assessed, but initial assessments estimate that an additional 5 million people may be impacted. 

In the northeast and Cyclone-affected areas, we know that schoolchildren are unable to attend school as 1,839 Government Primary Schools (GPS) have been damaged, and many schools are being used as shelters. One million farmers and another 4.8 million people dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods are affected by the extensive crop damage. It is estimated that US$130 million of crops have been lost across 484,651 hectares of land.  

To complement the support of the government, the Humanitarian Coordination Task Team (HCTT) launched a Humanitarian Appeal to respond to the devastation of Cyclone Remal. This has now been updated to include flooding the north-east of the country, with a total of 1.2 million people now targeted, focusing on the most vulnerable groups, including children, women, and people with disabilities (PWD).

This plan will be updated again in the coming days to reflect the needs of people affected by floods in the Jamuna Basin. 

Anticipatory action and proactive measures by the government and humanitarian community have meant that families were evacuated from risk areas on time. The UN agencies and partners reached over 4 million people in risk areas across the country with early warning messages. Approximately $2.6 million was spent for the cyclone and North-Eastern floods, on cash assistance, food, hygiene kits, and animal feed to mitigate the worst of the damage. Approximately, $8.5 million was provided to families, from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and World Food Programme (WFP), in anticipation of the Jamuna basin flooding, which will assist more than 600,000 people.

The vast number of people affected is only a part of the story. Behind every number, there is a story of resilience and struggle. A struggle to keep every family member safe and to protect what possessions can be saved. Heroic efforts on the part of the government and community leaders have meant that there has been minimal loss of lives, but the devastation remains significant. 

Year after year, Bangladesh is experiencing a notable increase in natural hazards and extreme weather events, exacerbated by climate change. Cyclones and floods are more frequent and intense than ever before, and the scale and frequency hinder the recovery of the Bangladeshis whose resilience is being tested to unimaginable limits. We stand in solidarity with the people of Bangladesh, whom we will continue to support in any way we can. We are committed to addressing the protection needs of the most vulnerable, including their exposure to discrimination and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). 

This Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is the result of a multisectoral consultative process led by the government to respond to the most urgent needs from June to December 2024. As we transition from the monsoon season to the second cyclone season of the year, the HRP will serve as a pivotal document, registering the impacts of evolving natural hazards and extreme weather events that Bangladesh faces. 

For further queries: Aleyda Valdes, Humanitarian Affairs Adviser, Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, valdes@un.org