FENI: Floodwaters in low-lying Bangladesh are finally receding after days of severe flooding, but approximately 300,000 people remain in emergency shelters and are in urgent need of aid, disaster officials reported on Sunday.
The devastating floods have claimed at least 18 lives and presented significant challenges to the newly formed government, which took office earlier this month following a student-led uprising.
Rescue operations, involving the army, air force, and navy, are ongoing to assist those displaced and provide essential aid, according to Disaster Management Minister Faruk-i-Azam.
“The flood situation is improving as the waters start to recede,” the minister noted.
Currently, over 307,000 people are housed in shelters, and more than 5.2 million have been affected by the floods, the ministry stated.
The floods have exacerbated tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi, with India denying allegations of deliberately releasing water from an upstream dam.
“We are now focused on restoring communication in affected areas to distribute relief food,” Azam said, also highlighting efforts to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Local residents are actively fundraising to support relief efforts.
The floods have compounded the difficulties faced by Bangladesh, which has recently undergone significant political upheaval. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India by helicopter, was replaced by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammad Yunus, who now leads an interim government tasked with implementing democratic reforms ahead of upcoming elections.
Infrastructure, including highways and rail lines between Dhaka and Chittagong, has been damaged, hindering access to flooded districts and disrupting business activities.
The country, highly vulnerable to climate change, frequently experiences monsoon-related floods. Bangladesh, with its extensive river delta system, is among the nations most affected by such disasters, as noted by the Global Climate Risk Index.
The southeastern regions, including Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, which houses around one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, have been particularly hard hit.
In neighboring India, floods have also caused significant damage, with at least 24 fatalities reported in eastern Tripura state. Over 100,000 people remain in relief camps, with a total of 1.7 million affected.
The situation has further strained relations between Bangladesh and India, with Bangladesh accusing India of exacerbating the flood crisis, a claim India has rejected, attributing the downstream water flow to heavy rainfall and automatic releases from its dams.
