At least 13 people in Bangladesh have been killed and 4.5 million affected by floods triggered by heavy rains, the disaster management and relief ministry said Friday.
Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief secretary Md Kamrul Hasan disclosed this in a press conference at the secretariat Friday.
The flood affected districts are Feni, Cumilla, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Brahmanbaria, Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Khagrachhari, Sylhet, Moulvibazar and Habiganj.
Some four persons were reported dead in Cumilla, three in Cox’s Bazar, two in Chattogram and one each in Feni, Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Brahmanbaria.
Citing the weather forecast, secretary Kamrul Hasan said the flood situation was improving gradually.
He said so far some 188,739 people have resorted to the flood shelters. So far, some Tk 35.2 million in cash, 20,150 metric ton rice and 15,000 packets of dry food have been allocated for the flood victims.
Kamrul added that rescue operations in the flood-affected areas were being carried out by the army, navy, coast guard, BGB, fire service, police as well as students.
The South Asian nation of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has seen frequent floods in recent decades.
According to the Global Climate Risk Index, it is among the countries most vulnerable to disasters and climate change.
