Bangladesh Floods leaves 300,000 in shelters
Published: 04:08 PM,Aug 25,2024 | EDITED : 08:08 PM,Aug 25,2024
People move on vehicles on a flooded Dhaka-Chattogram highway in the Chhagalnaiya area, in Feni, Bangladesh. — Reuters
FENI: River waters in low-lying Bangladesh are receding after days of deadly floods but 300,000 people are still in emergency shelters requiring aid, disaster officials said on Sunday.
The heavy floods, which killed at least 18 people in Bangladesh, have added to the challenges of a new government that took charge this month after a student-led revolution.
Rescue teams, including joint forces of the army, air force and navy, are helping those forced from their homes and bringing aid to those who have lost everything, disaster management minister Faruk-e-Azam said. 'The flood situation is improving as the flood water started to recede,' Azam said. More than 307,000 people are in shelters and more than 5.2 million have been affected by the floods, the ministry said. 'Now we are working to restore communication in the affected areas so that we can distribute relief food,' Azam said. 'We are also taking steps so that contagious diseases don't spread.' Ordinary Bangladeshis have been crowdfunding relief efforts.
Highways and rail lines were damaged between the capital Dhaka and the main port city of Chittagong, making access to badly flooded districts difficult and disrupting business activity. Monsoon rains cause widespread destruction yearly but climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events.
The South Asian nation of 170 million people is criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers and has seen frequent floods in recent decades.
Much of the country is made up of deltas where the Himalayan rivers the Ganges and the Brahmaputra wind towards the sea after coursing through India.
It is among the countries most vulnerable to disasters and climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index.
Hard-hit areas include the southeastern regions around Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, home to around a million Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar.
Floods across the border in upstream India have also left a trail of destruction, with at least 24 people killed in eastern Tripura state since Monday.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's metro railway in the notoriously congested capital Dhaka resumed on Sunday, more than a month after it was closed during the peak of student-led protests that eventually toppled the prime minister. The resumption of metro services is a key sign of a return to normal daily life. — AFP
The heavy floods, which killed at least 18 people in Bangladesh, have added to the challenges of a new government that took charge this month after a student-led revolution.
Rescue teams, including joint forces of the army, air force and navy, are helping those forced from their homes and bringing aid to those who have lost everything, disaster management minister Faruk-e-Azam said. 'The flood situation is improving as the flood water started to recede,' Azam said. More than 307,000 people are in shelters and more than 5.2 million have been affected by the floods, the ministry said. 'Now we are working to restore communication in the affected areas so that we can distribute relief food,' Azam said. 'We are also taking steps so that contagious diseases don't spread.' Ordinary Bangladeshis have been crowdfunding relief efforts.
Highways and rail lines were damaged between the capital Dhaka and the main port city of Chittagong, making access to badly flooded districts difficult and disrupting business activity. Monsoon rains cause widespread destruction yearly but climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events.
The South Asian nation of 170 million people is criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers and has seen frequent floods in recent decades.
Much of the country is made up of deltas where the Himalayan rivers the Ganges and the Brahmaputra wind towards the sea after coursing through India.
It is among the countries most vulnerable to disasters and climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index.
Hard-hit areas include the southeastern regions around Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, home to around a million Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar.
Floods across the border in upstream India have also left a trail of destruction, with at least 24 people killed in eastern Tripura state since Monday.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's metro railway in the notoriously congested capital Dhaka resumed on Sunday, more than a month after it was closed during the peak of student-led protests that eventually toppled the prime minister. The resumption of metro services is a key sign of a return to normal daily life. — AFP