Deadly floods leave millions stranded in Bangladesh

A woman and her child wade through flood waters in Feni

A woman and her child wade through floodwaters in Feni, one of the worst-hit areas. [Zakir Hossain Chowdhury/AFP]

At least 13 people have been killed and 4.5 million affected by floods triggered by heavy rains in eastern Bangladesh, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief says.

Floods triggered by torrential rains have swamped swaths of low-lying Bangladesh and rescuers are scrambling to evacuate flooded communities.

The ministry said on Friday that nearly 190,000 people were taken to emergency relief shelters and 11 of the country’s 64 districts were affected by the flooding.

Feni, about 100km (60 miles) northwest of the main port city of Chittagong, was worst hit.

The South Asian nation of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has seen frequent floods in recent decades.

It is among the countries most vulnerable to disasters and climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index.

Three of those who died drowned in floodwaters in the southeastern region of Cox’s Bazar, chief administrative officer of Ramu district Rasedul Islam said.

The annual monsoon rains cause widespread destruction every year, but climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events.

The army and the navy have been deployed, with speedboats and helicopters rescuing those stranded by the swollen rivers.

People wade through flood waters in Feni

Relentless monsoon rains and flooding have stranded millions of people in Bangladesh, submerging vast areas and damaging homes and infrastructure. [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

People wade through flood waters in Feni

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) has said that with the rains continuing, water levels could rise further over the next 24 hours, raising concerns about additional flooding and displacement. [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

People wade through flood waters in Feni

The most affected districts in Bangladesh included Feni, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Cumilla and Chittagong, where five major rivers were flowing above danger levels, the FFWC said. [AFP]

This aerial photograph shows deluged houses after floods in Comilla

Houses are deluged in the floods in Cumilla. [Mahfuzul Hasan/AFP]

People wade through flood waters in Feni

Road connectivity in several regions were severed, isolating communities and hampering relief efforts, disaster management and relief officials said. [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

People wade through flood waters in Feni

An analysis in 2015 by the World Bank Institute estimated that 3.5 million people in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, were at risk of annual river flooding. Scientists attribute the exacerbation of such catastrophic events to climate change. [Zakir Hossain Chowdhury/AFP]

People carrying umbrellas, wade through a flooded street amid rainfall in Feni

People wade through a flooded street amid rainfall in Feni. [AFP]

People wade through flood waters in Feni

“I haven’t seen so much water in the last 20 years. Everything in my house is wrecked because the water has risen to waist level,” said Mohammad Masum, a resident of Feni district. [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

People wade through flood waters in Feni

Monsoon rains in South Asian nations India and Bangladesh typically begin in June. The two countries share 54 common rivers that flow from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

Read More