DHAKA: According to the ministry of disaster and relief, heavy flooding in Bangladesh has led to the displacement of tens of thousands people as their homes have been washed away while schools remain closed. The situation might become worse because it is forecasted that there will be a great amount of rain within the next few days.
The ministry said 40,000 people are taking refuge at government shelters and the same number of medical teams have been formed to take care of flood victims.
Television footage showed flooded roads, broken bridges and dams, as well as villagers wading through knee-deep water. Farmers also had to rescue cattle from the gushing waters.
“Bangladesh is are used to flooding but this time round it’s different since low-lying areas are filling up so fast that people have been left with no option but take shelter in any available thing like rafts made using banana trees”, Liakath Ali is head of climate change program at development agency BRAC said.
More rain is predicted for central and southern parts by the local meteorological office. However, Brahmaputra river which has swollen would recede in a couple of days.
Rezwanul Rahman who is head Bangladesh’s disaster management department stated “heavy rains in upstream region India mean that the suffering is far from over. We have taken measures to cope with the situation.”
For some years now, seasonal monsoon rains which begin towards end May have brought devastation through flooding across India into neighbouring Bangladesh.
Floodwaters had begun receding in Assam where more than 48,000 campers were taking refuge sharing authorities from North Bengal on Monday. During last twenty four hours six persons die due to rain/flood-related incidents raising death toll seventy two since May this year in state .
Assam has experienced floods affecting over 2 million people. Among other places affected was Kaziranga National Park that houses one-horned rhinoceros.
Traffic was disrupted by heavy downpour on Tuesday morning in Delhi’s National Capital Region as well as its suburbs while last week unusually heavy rain had caused the roof of the airport terminal to cave in New Delhi. This week, heavy rains flooded roads and railway lines in financial capital Mumbai, disrupting flights and forcing schools to close.
