Bangladesh’s worst floods in decades leave 5 million people stranded in low-lying areas
The government is rapidly bringing food and emergency medical aid to people stranded in flooded areas. Authorities have opened 3,176 shelters for flood victims and deployed 639 medical teams | Photo: Bloomberg
About five million people in Bangladesh were stranded by flooding in low-lying areas as riverbanks were washed away by strong currents.
The death toll rose to 15 as at least five rivers in the South Asian country were hit by the worst flooding since 2018, according to government data, affecting 11 districts.
The devastating floods are the latest setback for the country of 170 million people, which has recently been besieged by deadly political protests and violence. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took over after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned earlier this month and fled the country amid a student-led mass uprising.
“These are the worst floods we have seen in three decades,” Liakath Ali, climate change director at the nongovernmental organization BRAC, said in a statement. “People are stranded across the country and we expect the situation to worsen in many places as the rains continue.”
The government is rapidly bringing food and medical aid to people stranded in the flooded areas. Authorities have opened 3,176 shelters for flood victims and deployed 639 medical teams.
According to BRAC, rescue efforts are being hampered by telecommunications disruptions, transport disruptions and flooded roads and highways.
“People didn’t have time to save anything,” Ali said. “Whole villages, all the families that lived in them and everything they owned — houses, livestock, farmland, fishing — were washed away.”
First publication: Aug 24, 2024 | 10:15 AM IST