IRIN
BANGLADESH: Two million people marooned by floods
4 September 2008


DHAKA, 4 September 2008 (IRIN) - More than two million people have been 
marooned by late monsoon floods in 15 of the country's 64 districts, 
according to the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) [see: 
http://www.bwdb.gov.bd/].

The flood waters first hit the country from the neighbouring Indian 
provinces of Bihar, West Bengal, Arunachal, Assam and Meghalaya at 
end-August, entering Bangladesh's three major rivers systems, including 
the Brahmaputra, Ganges and Meghna.

Inundating the north-western and north-eastern districts, that same 
water is now flowing south through the country's heartland - threatening 
to flood Dhaka, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Faridpur and Shariatpur districts 
in the south-central region.

Water levels along the Ganges-Padma and the Meghna river systems 
continue to rise. And while the Brahmaputra-Jamuna system registered a 
drop at points upstream, it is still rising downstream.

Flood conditions in the northern region worsened with the Teesta and the 
Dharla rivers - two tributaries of the Brahmaputra - rising, said 
Mustafa Sarwar, deputy project director of Flood Forecasting and Warning 
Centre (FFWC) [see: http://www.ffwc.gov.bd/]

As of 4 September, 29 out of the country's 73 rivers monitored by the 
FFWC registered an increase in water levels over the previous 24 hours, 
with 23 now flowing above the danger level.

Flooding in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts will likely continue as the 
region (including Kachhar, Goalpara and Dhubri districts in the 
neighbouring Indian Assam Province) has been experiencing heavy rainfall 
for last few days.

Nearly 125,000 people in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Rangpur districts 
alone have been marooned, while two young girls drowned in flood waters 
in the Chalonbeel area in Tarash Sub-district earlier this week.

Hundreds of "chars" (river islands) have been submerged, trapping tens 
of thousands and prompting many people to shift to higher ground along 
flood embankments.

The marooned people are now suffering from an acute lack of drinking 
water and food, say relief workers, while livestock does not have enough 
fodder.

Road links between Faridpur and Char Vadrasan, Tepakhola and Goalunda, 
Faridpur and Sadarpur in the south-central region have been cut off. In 
northern Kurigram District relief office said more than 100,000 people 
on 276 chars did not leave their homes despite the floods.

Agriculture losses

According to a report by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), 
crops such as Aman (the mainstay of the country's rice production and a 
staple component of the population's diet), t-Aman (a locally developed 
hybrid paddy), Aush (a secondary rice crop whose volume is less than 
half of Aman), jute and vegetables on more than 100,000 hectares of land 
in the 15 flood-hit districts were submerged.

"Crops, especially t-Aman, will be damaged completely if the water does 
not recede within the next two to three days," DAE former 
director-general Ibrahim Khalil warned.

Mohsin Ali, deputy director of the DAE in Kurigram District, said that 
vegetables and crops, including Aman, on about 10,000 hectares of land 
have been washed away.

More than 20,000 hectares of Aman and Aus crops in Companiganj, 
Golapganj, Jaintapur, Kanaighat, Gowainghat, Fenchuganj and Beanibazar 
Sub-districts have been destroyed in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts, 
according to agriculture officials.

In the northern Rangpur District, the Aman crop has already been 
destroyed on several thousand hectares of land. In Lalmonirhat District, 
another 27,605 hectares has been destroyed.

Relief operation begins

Meanwhile, 92 medical teams have been dispatched to flood-affected areas 
to cope with potential disease outbreaks, said sources at the 
Director-General of Health Services office.

A government-donor-NGO situation report issued on 1 September stated 
that 4,700 metric tonnes (MT) of rice and more than US$100,000 in cash 
relief had been allotted to all 64 districts of the country, while an 
additional 50,000 MT of rice and food grains had been allotted to the 15 
flood-affected districts.

Under this programme, flooded roads, mosques, madrasas (religious 
schools), orphanages, schools and other public welfare infrastructures 
and institutions would be renovated, the report said.

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