KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 51 people have died and more than one million others have been affected by heavy rainfall that triggered widespread flooding and landslides across Bangladesh in recent days, media reports said.
The BBC reported that thousands of people have been displaced after flash floods and landslides swept through large parts of the country, including the capital, Dhaka.
More than half of the reported deaths occurred in Cox’s Bazar, home to the world’s largest Rohingya refugee settlement. Last week, several students and a teacher were killed there after floodwaters swept through their school.
The heavy rain began more than a week ago and intensified in recent days, prompting authorities to issue flood and landslide warnings, evacuate families from high-risk areas and postpone student examinations. Thousands of displaced people are now staying in government shelters.
According to authorities, more than one million people had been affected by the flooding as of Sunday, with 28 of the 51 deaths reported in Cox’s Bazar.
In Dhaka, flooded streets disrupted traffic, with water reaching knee level in some areas, according to BBC Bangla. Some local media on Monday questioned previous government efforts to improve the city’s drainage system.
Sarder Udoy Raihan of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre told AFP that conditions in southeastern Bangladesh were expected to improve soon.
However, he warned that further flooding remained possible as the monsoon continued to affect the northeastern and northern parts of the country.
sa
