Bangladesh Floods: 44 Dead, Capital Dhaka Paralyzed as Rivers Overflow

At least 44 people have died in flood and landslip incidents across Bangladesh over the past week, officials said on Sunday, as rivers remain above danger levels and over 2.5 lakh families are displaced.

Overnight torrential rains — 76 mm recorded in Dhaka between midnight and 6 a.m. — inundated several areas of the capital, paralysing normal life. The government has deployed army, navy, and air force personnel to assist with relief operations in seven worst-hit districts, alongside local humanitarian agencies.

“Since July 5, officially 44 flood-related deaths were recorded until Saturday evening. We estimate that some 2,67,000 families have been affected so far,” a Disaster Management Ministry spokesperson said.

Several casualties were caused by landslips, while most others were due to drowning or being swept away by floodwaters, the spokesperson added.

Nearly 44,457 displaced people have taken refuge in over 1,100 makeshift flood shelters, primarily in the northeastern and southeastern regions. The deluge has marooned members of an estimated 2,67,918 families, according to official figures.

Bangladesh, a low-lying deltaic country criss-crossed by 1,415 rivers, is divided into four major basins. The influx of water from upstream, combined with heavy monsoon rains, has swollen rivers in the northeastern Meghna Basin and southeastern Hill Basin.

The state-run Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said Sunday that larger parts of several northern and northwestern districts in the Brahmaputra Basin are likely to experience floods, and conditions in the northeast and northwest could worsen.

As of Sunday, 7 of the 45 river monitoring stations in the Meghna and South Eastern hill basins reported water levels exceeding danger marks. The FFWC warned that more stations might cross danger levels, leading to further flooding in low-lying areas.

“During the next 24 to 48 hours, heavy to very heavy rainfall is forecast over the Sylhet, Rangpur, and Mymensingh divisions of Bangladesh and the adjoining Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam, and West Bengal,” the FFWC bulletin said.

Earlier in the week, seven Rohingya children and one teacher died in a landslip on July 8 at the world's largest refugee camp in Cox's Bazar — the worst single such incident this year.

Since Friday, the military has been deployed in seven worst-hit districts. Local NGOs are assisting as flood-displaced people struggle to cook in inundated homes. “Many people took refuge on rooftops or are living on roads with plastic sheets for shelter... several health complexes are inundated, making medical care nearly impossible,” said a health official in Moulvibazar.

Incessant rains since Saturday evening have also paralysed life in large parts of Dhaka and the southeastern port city of Chattogram, flooding roads and homes, stranding vehicles, and forcing residents indoors. The Daily Star reported that the meteorological department recorded 76 mm of rain in Dhaka between midnight and 6 a.m. Sunday, overwhelming drainage infrastructure.

“The overnight rain inundated my house compound and roads in the neighbourhood,” said Nasrin Ahmed, a resident of Dhaka's Mirpur area.