This new short film shows how, over the course of two and a half hours, the village of Jaliakhali in Bangladesh is submerged under river water. Jaliakhali was badly affected by Cyclone Aila in 2009, and this footage (shot approximately 18 months on) shows how the area had still not recovered from this extreme weather event.

Whilst the tidal patterns themselves are unchanged, with the embankment damaged by Aila, the village now floods with every high tide, illustrating the vulnerability that coastal and riverine communities are forced to live with. Most of the homes, temples, schools and the bazaar have been destroyed. Constant flooding has made the soil infertile. Most of the village now lives in makeshift shelters on what little areas of raised ground remain, and unemployment and lack of food are becoming major problems for residents. The house in this film belonged to a relative of Anil Krisha Roy, one of many who have been forced to leave to area to find food, water and jobs.

The residents of this village who have been forced to migrate join millions of others around the world, displaced from their homes and land by declining environmental conditions. There are now more people displaced by climate-related natural hazards each year than there are refugees fleeing persecution or conflict. The numbers will increase as the negative impacts of climate change become increasingly apparent with extreme weather events including hurricanes and cyclones becoming more dangerous, flooding and drought becoming more frequent and longer-lasting and sea levels rise.