Death toll in Bangladesh floods climbs to 57

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – The death toll from floods has jumped to 57 in southeastern Bangladesh while a large number of people remain missing as the swollen rivers started receding after causing massive damage, officials have said.

The Education Ministry, in a notification on Friday night, rescheduled the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) examination in the flood-affected southeastern Chattogram district and two other education boards.

Earlier scheduled to be held on August 17, the exam will now be held on August 29.

The deaths were reported in four major southeastern districts between August 4 and 11. Of the total deaths, 21 were recorded in Cox’s Bazar, 20 in Chattogram, 10 in hilly Bandarban, and six in Rangamati district according to official sources.

Meanwhile, Flood Forecasting and Warning Center warned that the major Jamuna, Brahmaputra, and Padma rivers would keep swelling in the plain areas in the next 72 hours. A similar forecast was issued for Surma and other rivers in the northeastern districts. The northern Teesta River waters may swell over the danger level, the center warned.

Southeastern region badly hit

Since the beginning of this month, the southern and southeastern parts of the country have been experiencing heavy rains. Chittagong and Bandarban districts received record-breaking rainfall.

The flash floods also washed away hundreds of houses, submerged 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) of crop fields and fish farms, and damaged vast stretches of roads in coastal Cox’s Bazar. This area is also home to thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who escaped a brutal genocide by the Myanmar security forces in 2017. The refugees, already living in squalid camps, have been severely affected by the flooding.

While in some areas the floodwater has started receding, people’s suffering has not decreased yet.

Chittagong district Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Md Saifullah Majumder said that 20 people were killed in Chittagong, and one person was missing as of Saturday due to heavy rains and floods caused by torrential downpours.

“Out of 15 sub-districts in Chattogram, 14 were badly affected by floodwaters. Crops over about 27,000 hectares of land got submerged under floodwaters. Initially, there was a loss of over 30 billion taka ($273 million),” he added.

According to Cox’s Bazar district administration, 21 people were killed and 480,000 people were affected by the flood. Apart from this, roads and 47 bridges were damaged by floods.

District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Md Jahangir Alom said that while dry food and potable was being distributed among the affected people, “it may take one week to calculate the real damage caused by the floods.”

Rangamati district Commissioner Mosaraf Hossain Khan said: “In the hills of Rangamati, floodwater submerged the low-lying areas and damaged households and crops.”