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The Coming Storm

The people of Bangladesh have much to teach us about how a crowded planet can best adapt to rising sea levels. For them, that future is now.

/2011/05/bangladesh/img/01-cyclone-battered-villager-714.jpg /2011/05/bangladesh/img/bangladesh-60-01.jpg Photograph by Jonas Bendiksen
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In the briny south, farmers have converted waterlogged rice fields into ponds for salt-tolerant shrimps and crabs.

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Under a rainy-season sky, migrants take the train back to Dhaka after visiting their home villages north of the capital. On either side are rice fields, healthy here but tainted by salinity farther south.

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Taxi boats called kheya nouka cross the Buriganga River to Sadar Ghat, Dhaka's main boat terminal, providing transport in one of the world's most densely populated cities. Low-lying Dhaka is among those most at risk from rising seas.

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Dhaka slums such as Korail (foreground) are bursting with environmental refugees, putting more pressure on a city laid low by aging infrastructure, intense poverty, and frequent flooding.

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When the river floods, the children of Jabed Ali know what to do: Climb the bamboo macha in the front yard and hold on tight. Char dwellers, who inhabit the constantly changing islands, or chars, on the floodplains of Bangladesh's three major rivers, are used to such calamities, which are on the increase.

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Wading in a foot of water, the Uddin family gathers for a meal. They had recently moved their house to this location to escape flooding on an island near Kurigram. Soon after this photo was taken, the family planned to dismantle the house and move again.

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Villagers pitch in to relocate buildings on Sirajbag, a silt island in the Jamuna River where flooding is common. Dismantled at noon, this mosque was rebuilt in time for evening prayers.

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An army of health workers trained by a Bangladeshi nongovernmental organization (NGO) called BRAC have helped reduce both infant mortality and the birthrate.

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Docking six days a week, a solar-powered school boat helps educate kids whose homes are periodically flooded.

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Kids flock year-round to a floating school. Traditionally homebound, girls especially benefit by having schools come to them. Studies show that educated girls (and boys as well) have fewer children as adults.

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Enterprising island inhabitants in the Gaibandha District use hyacinth plants to create floating gardens, where they will plant squash, okra, and other food crops. Developed by the international nonprofit Practical Action, the floating garden is a simple yet clever innovation that allows farmers to grow food on flooded land.

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Children play on in Jaliakhali, a village devastated by Cyclone Aila in 2009. That storm sent residents racing for one of thousands of recently built cyclone shelters (above), many of which double as community centers.

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