Peter Rodgers, a Harvard University Professor of Civil Engineering, has studied water issues in the Brahmaputra and Ganges delta for several decades. He was member of a fact-finding team sent to Bangladesh by the United States following the devastating floods of 1988. Members of the Bangladesh Support Network, a U.S. based group of Bangladeshis, spoke to Rodgers recently, in Washington, D.C. and we present excerpts of their conversation.
BSN: What measures can be taken to alleviate Bangladesh's plight?
RODGERS: The issue right now, is how much you can do within Bangladesh, and how much international cooperation you need. Actually, a lot can be done within Bangladesh to deal with the floods, such as providing high ground in each village, constructing helipads above flood waters, improving communications and warning systems, and taking measures to protect food stores and industry. It is cheap and easy to protect cities like Dhaka.
BSN: How bad was the 1988 flood?