Bangladesh is among one of the success stories of a forecast-based financing (FbF) model of dealing with natural disasters, with the most recent Cyclone Fani which hit the country last month an example of the optimum use of such improved scientific information.
The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society said this week that acting on the forecast of an imminent extreme weather event such as the cyclone had become clearer and more straightforward through the FbF model.
“The Bangladesh Red Crescent has been using a Forecast-based Financing (FbF) approach with support from the German Red Cross. As a result, when Cyclone Fani approached, decision-makers could rely on an established system which provided them with robust forecast information and served as a basis to decide, when and where to act and with what resources,” it noted.
In the days before Cyclone Fani made landfall, the Bangladesh Red Crescent set up an Activation Committee in line with its established procedures for activating the Early Action Protocol (EAP). Its role was to continuously review the meteorological data and decide if according to the forecast information the trigger for activation was met.
The Activation Committee is chaired by the Deputy Secretary General of the Bangladesh Red Crescent and also includes experts from the Cyclone Preparedness Programme, the Climate Centre, German Red Cross, and International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC). Activation of the Bangladesh EAP is being funded by the IFRC’s financial mechanism to support early action – the Forecast-based Action by the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF), which was created in May last year.
Based on the forecast information, the local branches in the coastal districts activated their control rooms, mobilised their resources, volunteers and officials for early warning and preparation of evacuation shelters. Eight members of the National Disaster Response Team were deployed in four districts (Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat and Barguna) to support the activities being conducted. In two districts, local branches with German Red Cross support also undertook a rapid stock-taking of local markets to ascertain if they were able to supply the food and relief items that would be required in case of an activation.
In addition, a database of the cyclone shelters, markets and accessibility was used by all stakeholders in preparation for Cyclone Fani. The database had been developed by the FbF project and proved to be very useful in preparing districts in the cyclone’s path for evacuation, and in obtaining real-time information from the shelters through the contacts listed.
According to the Bangladesh Red Crescent, all these actions as well as the structures for coordination demonstrate the importance of forecast-based financing in supporting readiness activities and bringing all affected parties together to take anticipatory action.