In February 2018 part of the embankment that holds back the Chunar River west of East Dhangmari, Bangladesh, collapsed for the third time in a year. Sixteen houses were swept away in what for locals had become an almost routine tragedy. But as the catalog of misfortunes mounted over the following months, even the oldest, most judicious residents knew these were no ordinary crises. Rice yields during the 2018 dry-season harvest were way down -- often well under a ton an acre, which pushed up food prices. In many fields, vegetables simply wouldn't grow in the salty soils.
"Because of the water damage, it sometimes seems like only the carpenters have work," said farmer Bimol Sardar.