Floods in Bangladesh have killed an estimated 71 people and left millions stranded in devastated areas. The disaster has also raised growing concerns about outbreaks of waterborne diseases.
Floods, triggered by relentless monsoon rains and overflowing waterways, have wreaked havoc over the past two weeks, causing widespread destruction and affecting an estimated five million people.
More than 580,000 families are still isolated in 11 districts hit by the floods and are in urgent need of food, drinking water, medicine and dry clothing.
Around 500 medical teams were helping to provide treatment, with the Army, Air Force, Navy and Border Guard assisting in relief efforts.
Authorities are now focusing on preventing the spread of waterborne diseases, a common consequence of such disasters, and ensuring the availability of clean water.
The General Directorate of Health Services reported that around 5,000 people were hospitalized in the last 24 hours due to cases of diarrhea, skin infections and snake bites.
Heavy rains in the capital Dhaka on Tuesday (3) flooded many districts, submerging roads in knee- and waist-deep water and causing massive traffic jams as vehicles struggled to cross flooded roads.
Crops worth $282 million were damaged, affecting more than 1.4 million farmers, according to a preliminary assessment by the Agriculture Ministry.
A 2015 analysis by the World Bank Institute estimated that 3.5 million people in the South Asian country were at risk from annual river flooding, which has increased in recent years due to climate change.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says two million children are at risk of suffering from the worst flooding in Bangladesh in three decades. UNICEF has launched an urgent appeal for $35 million to provide essential supplies to those affected.
“Year after year, the lives of millions of children in Bangladesh are being devastated by floods, heatwaves and cyclones. Climate change is clearly disrupting children’s lives,” said Emma Brigham, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Bangladesh.
This content was originally published in Floods in Bangladesh kill 71 people and raise concerns about disease outbreaks on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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