DHAKA, Bangladesh: Floods and landslides triggered by torrential monsoon rains have killed at least 51 people in Bangladesh over the past week, while more than one million people remain stranded across several districts, officials said on Sunday.
According to the latest daily disaster situation report released by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, floods have affected seven of the country’s 64 districts, leaving more than 1.02 million people marooned.
A senior ministry official, cited by Xinhua news agency, said that 51 people had died since July 6 due to flooding and related incidents, while 267,918 families had been affected.
The flooding, caused by heavy seasonal rainfall and swollen rivers, has also damaged homes, crops, roads and highways across large parts of the country.
Rescue and relief operations expanded
Authorities have mobilised disaster response teams to conduct rescue operations, distribute emergency relief supplies and manage temporary shelters.
According to the ministry, nearly 50,000 displaced people have taken refuge in government shelters.
A ministry spokesperson said that 44 flood-related deaths had been recorded until Saturday evening and estimated that around 267,000 families had been affected.
Several victims were killed in landslides, while others drowned or were swept away by floodwaters and overflowing rivers, officials said.
The spokesperson added that members of an estimated 267,918 families remained marooned in the affected areas.
Nearly 44,457 displaced people have taken shelter in more than 1,100 temporary flood shelters, mainly in the country’s northeastern and southeastern regions.
Since Friday, the government has deployed army, navy and air force personnel to assist relief operations in seven of the worst-hit districts.
Rivers continue to rise
Bangladesh, a low-lying delta criss-crossed by 1,415 rivers, is highly vulnerable to seasonal flooding.
Heavy monsoon rain and the inflow of upstream water have swollen rivers in the northeastern Meghna Basin and the southeastern Hill Basin.
The state-run Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) warned on Sunday that extensive flooding could spread to parts of northern and northwestern Bangladesh in the Brahmaputra Basin.
Seven of the FFWC’s 45 river monitoring stations in the greater Meghna and southeastern hill basins recorded water levels above danger marks on Sunday.
Officials warned that additional rivers could rise above danger levels in the coming days, inundating more low-lying areas.
“During the next 24 to 48 hours, heavy to very heavy rainfall is forecast over the Sylhet, Rangpur and Mymensingh divisions of Bangladesh and the adjoining Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and West Bengal,” the FFWC said in its 9 a.m. bulletin.
