Floods Destroyed Rural Bangladesh

In Many of Flooded Areas There are High Levels of Pre-existing Vulnerabilities, Including Poverty, Malnutrition & Social Deprivation

When the Dhorola River - a tributary of the mighty Brahmaputra - flooded Jatrapur union in the north-eastern district of Kurigram, Red Crescent volunteers had no choice but to start search-and-rescue and relief operation using log boats made from banana trees strung together. "We haven't seen floods like this in years," says Shawon, Bangladesh Red Crescent Youth Chief in Kurigram.

Since mid-August a similar scene was unfolding in 19 other low-lying districts in the east, west and central areas of Bangladesh, where downpours coupled with heavy rainfall in the main river basins and upstream catchments of India caused flooding which affected over three million people. More than 340,000 people were forced from their homes and 34,000 houses were completely destroyed. The country's inter-agency needs assessment report describes the situation as ‘the most severe floods the country has faced since the mega-flood of 2007'. Government reports say 52 people have drowned and more than 400 injured in the 10 districts surveyed.

Nurunnahar stays on a char, a temporary raised embankment, along the River Dhorola. Somehow she has managed to stay in her submerged home for weeks. "We should have left to a safer place, but this home is all we have. I saw snakes in the water right outside, but mostly I was scared, thinking what I would do if human bodies floated in here."

Residing in the same char , Zahera - whose house is still immersed in floodwater - says, "My family and I decided to leave when our skin swelled in the water and the smell of dead cows became unbearable." According to the country's Disaster Management Information Centre, there has been a spike in cases of diarrhoea, skin and eye infections due to the contaminated floodwaters.

"With the tube wells contaminated with flood water, the only other source for drinking water for most people in Kurigram is the river water which they can't boil as their kitchens are damaged and utensils lost", explains Suman Chandra Sil, a member of the Red Crescent's national disaster water and sanitation relief team. Recognising this problem, the Red Crescent has set up a mobile water treatment plant which is producing enough drinking water for the daily consumption of 1,000 families.

The Red Crescent has been on the ground responding across the country since the floods began. Hundreds of staff and volunteers have reached thousands of families, providing them with food, personal hygiene items, non-food items, safe drinking water, and medical services.

Source: IFRC

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Taxonomy

• Heath & Safety
• Flood Management
• Water & Sanitation