Heaviest Floods In 122 Years Hit Bangladesh’s Sylhet, Sunamganj; Death Toll Reaches 32

Monsoon storms and incessant rains have put Bangladesh in the face of devastating floods which led to deaths of at least 32 people.

More than nine million people are homeless as floodwaters inundate their homes destroying their belongings.

The Bangladesh Army continues to work with local administrations in evacuating stranded people from several inundated parts of the country and assist in the relief operations.

Last week, Bangladesh and the northeastern states of India faced incessant rains causing extreme flooding in several parts of both nations.

The state minister for disaster management and relief Enamur Rahman said heavy rains in Meghalaya and Assam caused the massive floods in Bangladesh.

He said these are the worst floods to hit the districts of Sylhet and Sunamganj in 122 years.

The situation in Sylhet remains dire as more than 9 people died due to electrocution and lightning. At least 21 people, including those in Sylhet, have died due to electrocution in Bangladesh.

Sylhet, Sunamganj, Brahmanbaria and northern parts of Bangladesh have faced unprecedented floods.

Due to the severity of the floods, Sunamganj and Sylhet were virtually isolated from the rest of the country.

Operations at the Sylhet railway station and Sylhet international airport remained suspended from Friday.

The local administrations are struggling to cope with the flood situation in Sylhet and Sunamganj where means of communication remain severed.

The waters cascading down from the surrounding hills of India’s of Meghalaya continues to worsen the situation.

More than 300,000 people in Sylhet were moved to shelters.

Last Saturday, the severity of the floods even prevented a health department team from entering Sylhet, forcing them to return to Dhaka.

The government said 64 sub-divisions in ten districts of the country have been affected by the floods.

The flood situation in Sunamganj and Sylhet is likely to remain unchanged for the next 48 hours as Bangladesh’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said there are chances of medium to heavy rains in northern and north-eastern parts of the country.

Last week in Sunamganj, residents took refuge on their rooftops amid gushing rising waters until the rescue boats came in.

Emergency medical services are being provided to the people stranded in these districts as hospitals remain flooded.

People in the waterlogged areas face acute shortage of drinking water.

The people stranded have also struggled to gather food for the last three days.

Hospitals, fire services, food warehouses to office-emergency services, most institutions are under water. Mobile and internet connectivity are also hit due to the rains.

Bogura, Jamalpur, Gaibandha and Lalmonirhat also faced severe floods due to the incessant rains.

More than 1.6 million children’s futures remain hanging in the balance due to the devastating floods.

Children are in need of food, clean water and medicines and the Bangladesh Army along with UNICEF reached the affected areas to provide critical support.

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