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| Sunday, 11 July 2004 |
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Millions marooned by floods in Bangladesh DHAKA, Saturday (Reuters) Floods triggered by heavy rains and swollen river waters have engulfed vast areas in Bangladesh, killing at least 11 people and leaving two million marooned, officials and witnesses said on Saturday. Three people died on Saturday when mudslides caused by rain buried their home in southern Chittagong area. Torrents carried away two children into a river near Cox's Bazar, 160 km (100 miles) from Chittagong port city, local officials said. Officials said the suddenly worsening floodwaters had already swamped hundreds of villages in 15 of Bangladesh's 64 administrative districts, mostly in the north and northeast. The deluge washed away hundreds of houses, leaving thousands of families homeless. Crops were under water in all the affected districts but no estimate of losses was immediately available. Schools were closed indefinitely in seriously affected northeastern Sylhet and northern Nilphamari districts. Many families took shelter on boats, highways, schools and government buildings, witnesses said. They faced shortages of food and drinking water as relief agencies could not reach victims in remote areas. In Sylhet, where six people died in the floods over the last two days, marooned people begged for food from media groups covering the flood, a Reuters cameraman in the area said. Imtiaz Ali, stranded with his family in a half-submerged house in Sylhet, said: "We have been without food for three days. No one has come to our rescue." Officials said heavy rain and strong currents prevented their efforts to send relief supplied to far-off areas. "The situation is really bad with half of the district already flooded," said a Sylhet official, by phone. Weather officials said the flooding might spread to central areas, including Dhaka, in the next few days as the monsoon brought heavier than usual downpours. "We are bracing for major floods across the country. The monsoon remains very active, with incessant rain falling every day since last month," one meteorology official said. Most rivers including the Jamuna, Brahmaputra, Meghna and Padma were above danger levels. Officials said some had burst their banks while others were about to do so. Rainwaters gushing down from nearby hills flooded the southeastern port city of Chittagong, with its four million inhabitants, on Saturday for the second time in three days, the officials said. |
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