At least 20 people have died and over 52 lakh people affected in Bangladesh due to floods caused by incessant monsoon rains and overflowing rivers, officials said on Sunday.
Many people are isolated by floodwaters and are in urgent need of food, clean water, medicine and dry clothing, especially in remote areas where blocked roads are hampering rescue and relief operations.
In a televised address, Chief Advisor to the Government Mohammad Yunus said the administration has taken all necessary measures to ensure speedy return to normalcy for the flood victims.
Nobel Peace laureate Yunus heads the interim government that was sworn in this month after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following a student-led uprising.
Abdul Haleem, a 65-year-old farmer from a village in Comilla district, said his mud hut was swept away by a 10-foot-high wave of floodwater at midnight.
“There are no supplies and no water. Hardly anyone has come inside the villages with relief material. You have to go close to the main road to get it,” he told Reuters Television.
Some in Bangladesh have alleged that the floods were caused by the opening of dam gates in neighbouring India, a claim rejected by New Delhi.
“We have started discussions with neighbouring countries to prevent future flood situations,” Yunus said.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department has warned that flood situation may persist if monsoon rains continue as water levels are receding very slowly.
More than 400,000 people have taken refuge in about 3,500 shelters in 11 flood-hit districts, officials said, with about 750 medical teams present for treatment, and the army, air force, navy and Border Guard Bangladesh assisting in rescue operations.
A 2015 analysis by the World Bank Institute estimated that 3.5 million people in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, are at risk from annual river flooding. Scientists blame climate change for the rise in such devastating events.
“The impact of this year’s monsoon rains has been widespread and devastating,” said Kabita Bose, country director of Plan International Bangladesh.
“Entire communities have been submerged, and millions of people, including children, now require safe shelter and life-saving humanitarian assistance,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
