Amy Pope
When floods tore through parts of Bangladesh last year, families had little time to react.
In some communities, water rose so quickly that parents were forced to make impossible decisions in a matter of minutes: which children to carry first, which belongings to leave behind, whether to stay and protect what they owned or flee before roads became impassable.
By the time humanitarian responders arrived, many families had already lost homes, livelihoods and any sense of stability.
What makes stories like these so heartbreaking is that while natural hazards are not always avoidable, many of their worst human consequences are.
