The death toll from the devastating floods in Bangladesh has risen to 71 as of Tuesday, with millions still stranded in flood-ravaged areas and growing concerns about waterborne disease outbreaks as floodwaters begin to recede.
The floods, driven by relentless monsoon rains and overflow from upstream rivers, have caused widespread devastation over the past two weeks, affecting approximately five million people.
Over 580,000 families remain marooned across 11 flood-affected districts, urgently needing food, clean water, medicine, and dry clothing. Nearly 500 medical teams have been deployed, with the army, air force, navy, and border guards actively participating in relief efforts.
Authorities are now prioritizing the prevention of waterborne diseases, a common and deadly consequence of such disasters, by ensuring the availability of clean drinking water and medical assistance.
The Directorate General of Health Services reported that nearly 5,000 people were hospitalized in the past 24 hours alone due to cases of diarrhea, skin infections, and snake bites.
In the capital city of Dhaka, heavy rainfall on Tuesday caused severe flooding, submerging roads in knee-to-waist-high water and creating massive traffic jams as vehicles struggled through the waterlogged streets.
The agriculture ministry’s preliminary assessment revealed that crops valued at 33.5 billion taka (approximately $282 million) have been destroyed, impacting over 1.4 million farmers.
A 2015 World Bank Institute analysis highlighted that 3.5 million people in Bangladesh are at risk of annual river flooding—a risk that has intensified in recent years due to climate change.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that two million children are at risk from what is being described as Bangladesh’s most severe flooding in three decades. UNICEF has issued an urgent appeal for $35 million to provide critical supplies to those affected.
“Year after year, millions of children in Bangladesh are being devastated by floods, heatwaves, and cyclones. Climate change is evidently reshaping children’s lives,” said Emma Brigham, Deputy Representative of UNICEF Bangladesh.
As Bangladesh faces yet another climate-induced disaster, the need for