Floods unseen in nearly two decades in northeast Bangladesh began to recede yesterday after about 60 people died in the country and neighboring India in a week, authorities said. Rescuers who went to the affected area are trying to help millions of isolated people. These floods have claimed the lives of at least ten people in Bangladesh and fifty people in India.
In Bangladesh, flood waters from northeast India caused a large dam on the Burak River, which is shared between the two countries, to burst, flooding at least a hundred villages. About 70 percent of Sylhet, the region’s largest city, was flooded, and about 60 percent of the Sonamgang district, Arrivosman Boyan, head of the Flood Monitoring and Prevention Center, told AFP. “This is one of the worst floods in the region,” he said, adding that the situation will improve further in the coming days after the heavy rains stop. Sylhet District Chief Mozipur Rahman said the Zakigang dam on the border with India could only be repaired when the water level dropped.
Nearly 50 people died in India last week due to floods, landslides and thunderstorms, according to local disaster management officials.
In the state of Assam (Northeast India), 18 people have died, according to authorities, and more than 92,000 people have been displaced.
In Bihar, west of Assam, a thunderstorm killed at least 33 people on Thursday. During the week, the state experienced a heatwave that reached 40 degrees Celsius.
