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 women experienced severe and prolonged income losses. A common coping strategy was diversification into mixed livelihood activities, though these options were constrained during the pandemic. The paper recommends short-term coping mechanisms including interest free loans, livestock support, and embankment protection, while longer-term adaptation initiatives should focus on livelihood diversification, vocational training, and stronger coordination among stakeholders. These findings highlight how compound disasters amplify pre-existing vulnerabilities and erode coping capacity, underscoring the need for integrated, livelihood-sensitive disaster governance in coastal Bangladesh. • Compound disasters have far-reaching economic losses, albeit low fatalities. • Aggravated impacts slowed the rehabilitation process & constrained society's coping mechanism. • Different livelihood groups were differently affected and followed different paths to mitigate risks • But mixed livelihoods practice has been a common risk-minimizing strategy local communities use. • Recommendations include easy loans, livestock support, protection measures & training.