Livelihood risks of compound disasters in coastal Bangladesh: Cascading impacts of COVID-19 and cyclone Amphan

Abstract Coastal communities in Bangladesh face recurring cyclones that repeatedly undermine their livelihoods. The arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 coincided with Cyclone Amphan, creating a compound disaster that generated cascading impacts across livelihood capitals. This study examined how different livelihood groups were affected by these overlapping crises in two coastal sub-districts namely Shyamnagar and Dacope. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools, including 16 focus group discussions, were complemented by 24 key informant interviews to capture both community experiences and institutional perspectives. Matrix ranking exercises were used to identify and prioritize risks under livelihood capitals. Findings show that impacts were not uniform. Land-owning farmers and aquaculture-based fishers retained some productive assets, while landless farmers, day labourers, artisanal fishers, small business owners, and…