The worst flooding in nearly two decades in northeastern Bangladesh began to subside on Sunday, after killing about 60 people a week in the country and neighboring India, authorities said.
Rescuers dispatched to the scene struggled to help millions of isolated people. These floods have killed at least ten people in Bangladesh and fifty in India.
In Bangladesh, floodwaters from northeastern India caused a large well in the Borak River, shared by the two countries, to explode, flooding at least 100 villages.
Arifuzzman Bhuiyan, head of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center, a government body in Bangladesh, told AFP that the floods had affected about 70 per cent of Sylhet district, the region’s largest town, and approximately 60% of in Sunamganj.
This is one of the worst floods in the region, he told AFP. But he said the situation will improve in the next few days after the heavy rains stopped.
Sylhet District Chief Mozibur Rahman said the dyke, located in Zakiganj on the Indian border, could only be repaired when the water level dropped further.
In India, about 50 people died last week due to floods, landslides and lightning, according to local disaster management authorities.
In the state of Assam (northeast of India), 18 people have died according to authorities and more than 92,000 people are in shelters.
In the state of Bihar, west of Assam, at least 33 people died in thunderstorms on Thursday. Bihar also suffered for a week from a strong heat wave with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius.
Source: Radio-Canada
