Severe Flooding In Bangladesh Claims 13 Lives And Displaces Millions

Devastating floods have swept across parts of Bangladesh, resulting in at least 13 fatalities, displacing countless families, and affecting millions. The National Disaster Response Coordination Centre, which operates under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, reported that flooding has impacted nearly 4.4 million people in 11 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts.

Heavy seasonal rains and an influx of water from hills in neighboring India have exacerbated the floods, causing significant damage. The floods have severely affected homes, crops, roads, and highways across vast regions of the country.

Rescue Operations

The disaster further response teams have mobilized to focus on rescue operations, distribute relief materials, and manage shelters that currently house around 200,000 people. Although rainfall has ceased in many areas as of Friday, weather officials in Dhaka predict that the flooding could persist for several more days.

In the last 24 hours, reports from Dhaka-based Ekhon TV revealed an additional seven fatalities, raising the total death toll to 13. The earlier reported deaths resulted from flooding downstream from India and ongoing heavy rains in the eastern regions of Bangladesh.

Non-governmental organization BRAC has estimated that up to three million people remain stranded, with extensive flooding submerging farmland, destroying homes and crops, and leaving many without electricity, food, or water.

Appeals For Aid

Several charity organizations have launched appeals for aid, with student groups at Dhaka University collecting dry food, cash, water, and medicines. Liakath Ali, BRAC’s Director of Climate Change, Urban Development, and Disaster Risk Management, described the current flooding as the worst Bangladesh has experienced in three decades.

“Entire villages and everything they possessed—homes, livestock, farmlands, fisheries—have been washed away,” said Ali. “People had no time to save anything. We expect the situation to worsen in many areas as the rains continue.”

Moreover, in the eastern district of Cumilla, new breaches in a flood protection embankment along the Gomti River inundated approximately 100 low-lying villages late Thursday night. Other districts, including Noakhali, Feni, and Chattogram, have also been heavily impacted.

Volunteers in Cumilla have been actively warning residents through loudspeakers at local mosques and attempting to guide them to safety. Some evacuees reported leaving their belongings behind as they sought refuge on higher ground.

Bangladeshi Military

The Bangladeshi military has deployed helicopters to deliver relief materials and dry food to affected regions.

Amid the crisis, rumors have circulated online alleging that India’s opening of the Dumbur dam in Tripura is responsible for the flooding. India’s External Affairs Ministry has refuted these claims, stating that the dam is far from the border and attributing the widespread flooding to heavy rains across the region.

However, the situation remains dire as authorities and relief organizations work to address the urgent needs of those affected.