During July -September 1998, a devastating flood of unprecedented magnitude ravaged almost 75 percent of the country for about two and a half months. Apart from loss of human lives and livestock, there was extensive damage to standing crops, housing and infrastructure. Economic life slowed down, adding to the problems of unemployment, underemployment and decline in income of the rural poor.

Impact on Grameen Bank :
1. Out of 2.3 million members of Grameen Bank about 1.2 million were affected by the floods. Of these about eight hundred thousand were severely affected.

2. A total of 821 people died including 168 members, 255 members of their families and as many as 398 children of their families. Major causes of death were drowning (252, mostly children), diarrhea (141), snakebite (58) and electrocution (36).

3. More than 1,50,000 Grameen Bank members had to take shelter in relief camps set up for peo- ple whose houses were submerged in water. The government, NGOs and the civil society worked together to minimize the sufferings of the people, particularly women and children.

_____________________________________    Bank's Strategy for Dealing with the Flood : _____________________________________

There were mainly two priorities :

a. Immediate assistance programme
for survival and income rehabilitation.

b. Post-flood rehabilitation programme.

Immediate Assistance Programmes :

Primary objective of the immediate assistance program was to save the lives of GB members and their families in the worst hit areas. In order to do that the bank employees had to keep in constant touch with members to keep up their morale often under very difficult condi- tions. They were supplied with emergency provisions.

More than 24000 worst affected centres, about 45 percent of all GB centres (a fixed place in the village where bank and borrowers meet every week to perform all banking transactions) were declared as disaster stricken centres. In the disaster stricken centres all routine activi- ties of the Bank including weekly loan repayment was suspended. Normal activities in the disaster stricken centres resumed at the end of October 1998.

Assistance both in cash and kind was made available to members to address the immediate survival need. A list of materials which were supplied to flood affected GB members, is given in the following table.

All restrictions on savings were relaxed so that GB members could have access to their col- lective savings in the Group Fund during the disaster period.

In many areas special health services were provided through Grameen Health Centres, vol- unteer medical teams and by hiring the services of local doctors who charged only a token fee.

Post-flood Rehabilitation Programmes

The following measures were taken by Grameen Bank
to implement the post-jlood rehabilitation pro- grammes.

	The Grameen Bank provides different kinds of loans to its members. These are mostly General, Seasonal and House loans.
	To assist its members, the Bank provided fresh loans to members who had Sto 10 install- ments remaining in the repayment schedule.
	Borrowers who had paid back half or more of their loans, became eligible for new loans from the Bank for the amount they repaid. The repayment schedule was extended for a year.
	For the first time borrowers who paid only 16 installments, out of 50, the Bank provided them with seasonal loans to restart agr:icultural activities.
	For members who had received housing loans and whose houses were damaged, were given Tk.5,OOO supplementary loan for repair of their houses.
	Members who had not received housing loans, were given Tk.2,500 for repairing the dam- aged houses.
	For members whose houses were completely destroyed, were given fresh loans to recon- struct the damaged houses.
	No installment was collected for the loans disbursed during October-Oecember 1998 period Repayment was scheduled from January 1999.
	Distributed half a million packets of vegetable seeds to members. Grameen Krishi (Agriculture) Foundation supplied seeds.
	Procured wheat, potato and mustard seeds and supplied to members according to their demand.
	Organized vaccination program for cattle, poultry and livestock with the assistance of the Livestock Department of the Government.
	Helped people to repair and clean the tube-wells for safe drinking water.