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Article: Geography conspires against Bangladesh. (flood-prone geography and overpopulation make cyclones especially deadly)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- May 11, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As the deadly cyclone brewed in the Bay of Bengal last week, meteorologists succeeded in providing the citizens of Bangladesh a few days warning -- enough time for millions of people to evacuate from lowland areas and islands in the country's eastern reaches. Yet precious hours of warning could not make up for the country's flood-prone geography and overpopulation, twin problems that elevated the disaster to epic proportions.
"The geography of the coast along the northern Bay of Bengal is the worst place in the world for typhoons to hit," says Robert Beard, a meteorologist at the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center, located in Guam.
Situated at the mouth ...