According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, floods in eastern Bangladesh caused by torrential rainfall have left at least 13 people dead and 4.5 million people displaced.
Large areas of Bangladesh’s low-lying areas have been inundated by floods brought on by heavy rainfall, and rescuers are rushing to evacuate affected residents.
Nearly 190,000 people were brought to emergency relief shelters, according to the ministry, which also reported on Friday that the floods has hit 11 of the 64 districts in the nation.
The worst-hit area was Feni, which is located roughly 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Chittagong, the main port.
With hundreds of rivers crisscrossing the 170 million-person South Asian nation, floods have been a common occurrence in recent years.
The Global Climate Risk Index lists it as one of the nations most susceptible to natural disasters and the effects of climate change.
According to Rasedul Islam, the chief administrative official of the Ramu district in Cox’s Bazar, three of the deceased drowned in flooding in the southeast.
Every year, the monsoon rains cause extensive damage, but as a result of climate change, there are more catastrophic weather events and altered weather patterns.
Speedboats and helicopters are being used to rescue people who are stuck by the swollen rivers, and the army and navy have been called into action.
Millions of people have been left trapped in Bangladesh due to the unrelenting monsoon rains and flooding, which have also severely damaged homes and infrastructure.
As long as the rains continue, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) warns that water levels could increase more over the course of the next 24 hours, increasing the risk of more floods and displaced people.
The five main rivers in Bangladesh’s most impacted districts—Feni, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Cumilla, and Chittagong—were flowing over dangerous levels, according to the FFWC.
Cumilla’s floodwaters have flooded houses completely.
Disaster management and relief personnel reported that road connectivity had been cut in a number of areas, isolating residents and impeding relief efforts.
One of the nations most vulnerable to climate change, Bangladesh, is home to 3.5 million people who may be at risk of yearly river floods, according to a 2015 World Bank Institute report. Scientists believe that climate change is to blame for the escalation of such catastrophic disasters.
In Feni, people wade through a flooded roadway during a downpour.
“It’s been 20 years since I’ve seen so much water. The water has reached waist level, destroying everything in my house,” Feni district resident Muhammad Masum said.
In Bangladesh and India, two countries in South Asia, the monsoon season normally starts around June. 54 rivers that flow from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal are shared between the two nations.