Bangladesh: Flood - Final report early action DREF Operation n° MDRBD025 Format Summary of the Early Action Protocol (EAP) Bangladesh is well known as a land of rivers. The country is prone to flooding as it is located on the Brahmaputra River Delta, also known as the Ganges Delta, and the many distributaries flowing into the Bay of Bengal. There are over 230 rivers and tributaries across the country. Being part of such a basin and being less than 5 meters above mean sea level, Bangladesh faces the cumulative effects of floods due to water flashing from nearby hills, the accumulation of the inflow of water from upstream catchments and locally heavy rainfall enhanced by drainage congestion. The country faces river flooding and riverbank erosion almost every year. With the effect of global warming and climate change, Bangladesh is in the list of the 10 worst affected countries in the world. Recurrence of severe river flooding has also increased with the change of global climate. The climate change causes frequent severe river flooding, which is affecting not only the lives and livelihoods but also obstructing economic growth of the country. Floods have the greatest impact on people who are living in low-lying areas, living below the poverty line, living in fragile houses and have a high number of dependent family members to care for. The people who live on the Char land (river island) and on the Brahmaputra-Jamuna river basin are the most vulnerable to river flooding and bank erosion. According to the World Bank, extreme poverty rates are higher in the districts of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna basin.