Impact of flood and riverbank erosion on local livelihoods: a study on Char Janajat at Madaripur district

Abstract

Dynamic riverbank erosion and seasonal floods cause severe socioeconomic devastation in the Padma River basin of Bangladesh, driving widespread displacement and chronic livelihood vulnerability in marginal riverine island (char) lands. This study evaluates the multi-sectoral impacts of these hydro-meteorological hazards on the Char-Janajat community and assesses the efficacy of local adaptation frameworks following recent macro-infrastructural shifts. Integrating a mixed-methods approach, quantitative empirical data were gathered from a randomized household survey (n = 100, operating within a 7% precision margin) and triangulated with qualitative insights from four Focus Group Discussions. Concurrently, a Pearson’s chi-square (χ2) test of independence was executed to model public health dependencies. The findings reveal extensive asset degradation; with agriculture supporting 36% of local livelihoods, catastrophic crop failures and topsoil erosion induce long-term financial fragility. Transport infrastructure suffers acute seasonal paralysis, prompting 35% of residents to demand elevated road-cum-embankments to maintain physical connectivity. Critically, a 90% deficit in hygienic sanitation during disasters establishes a highly significant statistical association with post-disaster illnesses (χ2 = 14.92, df = 1, p < 0.001), primarily manifesting as Diarrhoea (34%), Cold and Fever (26%), and Scabies (19%). This epidemiological crisis is severely compounded by a 95% formal disaster-training deficit, forcing a reliance on spontaneous autonomous coping–such as 20% of households depending on local educated youth to manually excavate temporary drainage channels. Ultimately, while autonomous adjustments offer brief survival, they are routinely overwhelmed by macro-river dynamics. Residents strongly advocate for permanent institutional interventions, led by high-capacity flood shelters (30%) and elevated road networks (20%). The study highlights a crucial paradigm shift, emphasizing the positive geomorphological stabilizing impact of the peripheral engineered embankments near the Padma Bridge mega-project. These insights provide a critical empirical baseline for policymakers to design proactive, integrated river training and climate-resilient deltaic disaster management frameworks.