Bangladesh is renowned in disaster risk reduction (DRR) for active involvement of community people and local disaster management institutions in DRR activities. Our study aimed to describe the disaster risk management (DRM) institutions and assess their functioning in six coastal unions across the three coastal zones of Bangladesh. Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used. The study focused on two key local institutions—the Union Disaster Management Committees (UDMCs) and the Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP)—functioning at the union level in DRM. Such institutions have both horizontal and vertical collaborations with other institutions. However, we argue that the UDMCs’ external dependencies in their functioning indicate their limited financial and administrative autonomy, which is a barrier to successfully institutionalizing disaster management. The results show that the CPP is the most successful program, markedly increasing the trust of the people in warning dissemination and evacuation efforts in the event of a cyclone. Although the adoption of decentralized risk management systems has resulted in significant progress in increased rate of evacuation and reduced death rate and damage, lack of funding and equipment, limited coordination between institutions, lack of skilled and knowledgeable workforce, and inappropriate power structures may reduce the effectiveness of DRR activities prior to, during, and following disasters.

孟加拉国因社区居民和当地灾害管理机构积极参与减灾活动而在减少灾害风险 (DRR) 方面享有盛誉。我们的研究旨在描述灾害风险管理 (DRM) 机构并评估其在孟加拉国三个沿海地区的六个沿海联盟中的运作情况。使用了定性和定量研究方法。该研究重点关注两个关键的地方机构——联邦灾害管理委员会 (UDMC) 和飓风防备计划 (CPP)——在联邦一级的灾害风险管理方面发挥作用。这些机构与其他机构有横向和纵向合作。然而，我们认为 UDMC 在运作中的外部依赖性表明它们的财务和行政自主权有限，这是成功将灾害管理制度化的障碍。结果表明，CPP 是最成功的计划，显着提高了人们对飓风发生时的警报传播和疏散工作的信任。尽管采用分散式风险管理系统在提高疏散率、降低死亡率和损害方面取得了重大进展，但资金和设备的缺乏、机构之间的协调有限、缺乏熟练和知识丰富的劳动力以及不适当的权力结构可能会降低灾害发生前、灾害期间和灾害后 DRR 活动的有效性。显着提高了人们对飓风发生时的警报传播和疏散工作的信任。尽管采用分散风险管理系统在提高疏散率、降低死亡率和损害方面取得了重大进展，但资金和设备的缺乏、机构之间的协调有限、缺乏熟练和知识丰富的劳动力以及不适当的权力结构可能会降低灾害发生前、灾害期间和灾害后 DRR 活动的有效性。显着提高了人们对飓风发生时的警报传播和疏散工作的信任。尽管采用分散式风险管理系统在提高疏散率、降低死亡率和损害方面取得了重大进展，但资金和设备的缺乏、机构之间的协调有限、缺乏熟练和知识丰富的劳动力以及不适当的权力结构可能会降低灾害发生前、灾害期间和灾害后 DRR 活动的有效性。