The death toll from floods in Bangladesh has reached 71 as of Tuesday, with millions of people still stranded in devastated areas and growing concerns about outbreaks of waterborne diseases as the inundation recedes. The floods, caused by continuous monsoon rains and runoff from upstream waterways, have caused widespread destruction over the past two weeks, affecting approximately five million people. More than 580,000 families remain marooned in 11 flood-affected districts, urgently needing food, clean water, medicine, and dry clothing. Nearly 500 medical teams are providing treatment, with the army, air force, navy, and border guard supporting relief efforts. Authorities are now concentrating on preventing the spread of waterborne diseases, a common consequence of such disasters, and ensuring the availability of clean drinking water. The Directorate General of Health Services reported that nearly 5,000 people were hospitalized in the past 24 hours for cases of diarrhea, skin infections, and snake bites. Heavy rain in the capital Dhaka on Tuesday flooded many districts, submerging roads in knee-deep to waist-high water, causing severe traffic jams as vehicles navigated through waterlogged streets. Crops worth 33.5 billion taka ($282 million) have been damaged, affecting over 1.4 million farmers, according to a preliminary assessment by the agriculture ministry. A 2015 analysis by the World Bank Institute estimated that 3.5 million people in the South Asian country were at risk of annual river flooding, a risk that has increased in recent years due to climate change. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has stated that two million children are at risk from Bangladesh's most severe flooding in three decades. UNICEF has launched an urgent appeal for $35 million to provide essential supplies to those affected. "Year after year, the lives of millions of children in Bangladesh are being devastated by floods, heatwaves, and cyclones. Climate change is clearly altering children’s lives," said Emma Brigham, deputy representative of UNICEF Bangladesh.
Text: Lara Palmer
03.09.2024
Concerns Grow Over Waterborne Diseases as Floodwaters Recede, Affecting Millions