At least 13 killed after floods in eastern Bangladesh affect 4.5 million people
The floods have caused at least 13 deaths and left nearly 800,000 people homeless, Kamrul Hasan, secretary in the disaster management and relief ministry, told the media on Friday
Flooding in 12 districts of Bangladesh has affected more than 4.5 million people, adding to the pressure on the interim government led by Nobel laurate Muhammad Yunus, which is grappling with a host of political and economic challenges.
The floods have caused at least 13 deaths and left nearly 800,000 people homeless, Kamrul Hasan, secretary in the disaster management and relief ministry, told the media on Friday. The districts affected by floods include Cumilla, Noakhali, Brahmanbaria, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet and Habiganj.
The latest report from Bangladesh’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said five rivers in the eastern part of the country were flowing above the danger level, while data from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) showed 14% of mobile towers in the flood-hit districts had ceased functioning.
The Bangladesh army, navy, coast guard, border guards, fire service, police and members of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and NGOs are engaged in relief measures in the flooded areas, and the interim government has launched a fund collection drive to help the flood victims. The Bangladesh Army contributed an amount equivalent to one day’s salary of all its personnel to the drive.
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“We are now providing dry food, drinking water and toilet facilities at shelter centers in flood-affected areas,” said Liakath Ali, director of the disaster risk management programme at Brac, the world’s largest NGO.
The disaster management ministry has set up a control room for providing information and support. The ministry’s secretary, Kamrul Hasan, said 188,739 people were evacuated from the flooded areas and the government is providing cash, rice and dry food items to affected communities.
Mashfiqus Salehin, professor at the Institute of Water and Flood Management at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said the eastern part of the country, especially Feni district, hadn’t witnessed such floods in recent years. Since people don’t usually face floods in this region, they could not prepare for the deluge,” he said.
Salehin highlighted the need for updating the flood warning and rain forecasting systems to minimise damage. “I think Bangladesh and India can jointly set up an integrated warning system,” he said. He cited heavy rains in catchment areas as the main reason for the unprecedent flooding.
On Thursday, Bangladesh’s interim government chief Muhammad Yunus proposed during a meeting with the Indian envoy that the two countries should consider a mechanism for high-level collaboration to tackle floods since the two countries share several rivers and catchment areas.
Sarder Udoy Raihan, chief of Bangladesh’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, told HT the flood waters had begun receding in most areas as rains had reduced in upstream areas. “I think the water will further recede within the next two days and go below the danger level in most of the areas,” he said.
