“There Was No Advantage of Being Old in the Shelter”: Experience of Older Adults to Tropical Cyclone in the Coastal Bangladesh

Abstract

Over the past decade, climate induced calamities have become more frequent in coastal regions around the world and cause immense loss of human lives. Among different age groups, older adults are one of the most vulnerable communities to cyclone in the coast. In the evacuation process from cyclone, older adults rely on family members, neighbors, volunteers, local social organizations. The goal of this study is to understand the experience of older adults to cyclones in the coastal Bangladesh. This study was completed using a qualitative data collecting approach. The main aim is to determine the evacuation process of older adults to cyclone shelter and their condition in Gabura and investigate how it affects their evacuation behavior and results through interviews, and focus group discussions. Field data have been collected through 15 in-depth interview and two focus group discussions. The results of this study indicate that elderly persons particularly are at risk during cyclones. Also, this study offers useful knowledge about the older adults' evacuation during cyclones. It identifies the factors that influence the evacuation decision-making. Policymakers, emergency management organizations, and community stakeholders will benefit from the study's findings when deciding how to best protect vulnerable groups during evacuations, especially older adults.

Keywords: Vulnerability, Tropical Cyclone, Older adult, Evacuation