OCHA Situation Report No. 3 Bangladesh - Floods 3 October 2000
The present report summarizes information provided by the UN Resident Coordinator's Office in Dhaka and by WFP. Situation and Damage 1. Rushing floodwaters continued to flow across the border from India into the northwest of the country. Moreover, on 1 October the situation was aggravated by low pressure-induced rainfall in places adjoining the Bay of Bengal. New areas have been flooded in the upazilas (subdistricts) of Sharsha, Jhikargacha, Chowgacha, Kolaroa, Tala, Shalikha, and Magura Sadar. Water levels rose in areas already flooded. As the water moves south, it inundates yet more areas downstream. About 3 kilometres of road connecting Jessore and Benapole have been submerged. A number of culverts have given way to rushing waters disrupting road communications on the highways. The Dhaka-Calcutta bus connection has been out of service since 26 September. 2. The northwest of Bangladesh has been unscathed by floods for more than 50 years. People there are unaccustomed to using boats, and indeed, the scarcity of boats has proved a major obstacle in the rescue operations. The people have very little experience of disasters of this type and have not developed a coping strategy, with the result that this sudden flooding of the northwest of the country has had far harsher consequences than the annual flooding in the flood plains. The daily newspapers are rife with reports of looting in abandoned villages. 3. So far about 71 people have reportedly died of pneumonia, snake bites, diarrhoea or drowning. The Government of Bangladesh has confirmed 18 deaths. However, as yet there have been no reports of deaths from starvation. According to the Government, in all, 2.63 million people have been affected by these floods. 4. More than 500,000 people in the affected districts have been accommodated in over 450 temporary flood shelters. There have been cases of pneumonia amongst small children in the flood shelters. There is an acute shortage of food, in particular for children in flood affected districts. The breast-fed children are sorely affected, since their mothers are consuming insufficient quantities of food to produce milk for them. Health professionals have appealed for emergency supplies of full and half-cream milk to save the lives of thousands of small children living in the flood shelters. People urgently need cooked food, dried food, safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities. Immediate health intervention is vital. National and International Response 5. According to a WFP emergency report issued on 29 September, although the population is in a clear need of relief assistance, the situation is fully under control of the Government, whose food stocks are sufficient to cover the current relief requirements without international support. However, a reliable route must be found for transporting emergency food supplies to the flooded northwest as soon as possible. 6. During a visit to the flood-stricken areas on 30 September the Prime Minister announced that affected farmers would be exempt from interest on one-year agricultural loans, and that fresh loans would be prioritized. Rehabilitation plans will be drawn up for flood-affected districts. The Prime Minister has also announced that the Government will distribute free food by means of Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) cards which affected families will have at their disposal until the next harvesting season. 7. No official request for international assistance has been received by OCHA to date. 8. The UN Resident Coordinator's Office in Dhaka and other UN Agencies in-country are closely monitoring the situation and maintaining contact with Government agencies concerned. 9. WFP is the sole UN Agency so far to have been asked to review the situation by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MDMR); WFP was invited to make a joint assessment with the Government to determine actual needs for food grain in the affected districts. The WFP team is currently conducting an assessment in the affected northwestern districts of Bangladesh. 10. The Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB) convened a meeting with donor agencies in Dhaka on 3 October 2000. 11. 'Disaster Forum'; an NGO coalition, has reported that 11 NGOs working in Chuadanga district have decided to work jointly for better coordination of their relief activities. A team of volunteers from the NGO MSF-Holland is providing medical treatment facilities in Chuadanga. Relief activities have also been undertaken by various local and international NGOs, i.e., ADRA, CARE, Concern, CARITAS, Oxfam, etc. 12. OCHA is in close contact with the UN Resident Coordinator's office and will revert with further information, as it becomes available. 13. This situation report, together with further information on ongoing emergencies, is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int |----------------------+----------------------+---------------------- Telephone: +41-22-917 12 34 Fax: +41-22-917 00 23 In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10 Desk Officers: Ms. S. Metzner-Strack / Mr. R. Mueller / Mr. S. Matsuka Direct Tel. +41-22-917 21 44 / 31 31 / 40 34 Press contact: (in GVA) Mr. Donato Kiniger-Passigli, direct Tel. +41-22-917 26 53 (in NY) Ms. Phyllis Lee, direct Tel. +1-212-963 48 32 distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists: www.vita.org/listsub.htm sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -