DHAKA — The death toll from recent floods in Bangladesh has increased to 71, with millions of residents still stranded in affected areas and growing concerns over potential outbreaks of waterborne diseases as floodwaters begin to recede.
The flooding, caused by continuous monsoon rains and runoff from upstream rivers, has brought widespread devastation over the past two weeks, impacting approximately five million people.
Over 580,000 families remain isolated across 11 flood-stricken districts, urgently needing food, clean water, medicine, and dry clothing. Nearly 500 medical teams are on the ground providing treatment, while the army, air force, navy, and border guards are assisting with relief efforts.
Authorities are now concentrating on preventing the spread of waterborne diseases, a frequent consequence of such disasters, and ensuring access to safe drinking water.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services, nearly 5,000 people have been hospitalized in the past 24 hours due to cases of diarrhea, skin infections, and snake bites.
On Tuesday, heavy rainfall in the capital, Dhaka, led to severe flooding, submerging roads in water up to waist height and causing significant traffic congestion as vehicles navigated the waterlogged streets.
Preliminary assessments by the agriculture ministry estimate that crops worth 33.5 billion taka (approximately $282 million) have been destroyed, affecting more than 1.4 million farmers.
A 2015 study by the World Bank Institute suggested that 3.5 million people in Bangladesh were at risk of annual river flooding, a figure that has only grown in recent years due to climate change.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that two million children are at risk from the country’s worst flooding in three decades. UNICEF has launched an urgent appeal for $35 million to provide essential aid 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.