Devastating floods have swept across Bangladesh, displacing nearly 300,000 people and claiming the lives of at least 42. Triggered by heavy monsoon rains, the floods have inundated vast areas of the low-lying South Asian country, leaving countless families homeless and stranded. The disaster has further compounded the challenges facing Bangladesh, which is still reeling from the recent toppling of its government following weeks of civil unrest.
“My house is completely inundated,” Lufton Nahar, 60, told AFP from a relief shelter in Feni, one of the worst-hit districts. “Water is flowing above our roof. My brother brought us here by boat. If he hadn’t, we would have died.”
The floods have wreaked havoc across the country, damaging highways and rail lines, making access to badly flooded districts difficult and disrupting business activity. The situation is particularly dire in Cox’s Bazar, home to around a million Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar.
While the floods have brought immense suffering, the nation is also dealing with the aftermath of the student-led revolution that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. With an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus still finding its feet, ordinary Bangladeshis have taken the initiative to provide relief to those affected by the floods.
Crowdfunding efforts have been organized by the very students who spearheaded the protests that led to Hasina’s departure. Crowds flocked to Dhaka University to offer cash donations, while students loaded rice sacks and crates of bottled water onto vehicles for the flood-affected areas.
The flooding is not an isolated incident. Bangladesh, a nation of 170 million people crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has witnessed frequent floods in recent decades. While monsoon rains cause widespread destruction every year, climate change is exacerbating the situation, leading to more frequent and intense extreme weather events.
The disaster has also spilled over into India, specifically the state of Tripura, where 24 people have been killed since Monday due to landslides triggered by the heavy rainfall.
The situation remains precarious, but forecasts suggest that the rain is likely to ease in the coming days, offering a glimmer of hope for a swift recovery. However, the long-term impact of the floods will be felt for months to come, as the country grapples with the immense task of rebuilding and providing assistance to those who have lost everything.
