| Summary: | Bangladesh's topographic and climatic systems make it one of the most water-related
disaster prone countries in the Asian region. Its unique geographical location makes it
especially vulnerable to excessive rainfall both in the catchment area and within the
country, and predisposes to annual flooding which at times becomes catastrophic (as in
1988 and 1998). Floods have caused a greater loss of life and property, and have affected
livelihood of more families and communities in Bangladesh than all other natural hazards
combined. In a poverty-stricken country like Bangladesh, resources are always less than
needed, especially in a disaster situation. Therefore, the question arises: whom to give
assistance? And how do we identify them? This report reviews the experience of BRAC
as well as other NGOs during the flood in search of these queries and proposes a step-bystep
guide for rapid identification of affected households, damage estimation and need
assessment, combining both quantitative and qualitative methods and modified as the
circumstances demand. Issues discussed are: selecting the areas and households for
interventions, procedure to be followed for rapid survey, damage estimation, needs
assessment, and maintaining and building Social Capital.
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