Severe monsoon rains inundate large swathes of the country
An assessment team from the international disaster relief charity ShelterBox has arrived in Bangladesh after severe monsoon rains inundated large swathes of the country.
Flash floods, triggered by heavy rainfall and upstream water flows from India, have caused major rivers to overflow and around 5.8 million people are affected.
They are some of the worst floods to hit eastern regions of Bangladesh in three decades.
More than half a million people have been displaced from their homes and many are now sheltering in communal buildings like hospitals, schools, and government buildings.
The team will be speaking with affected communities, local organisations, and Rotary networks to find out what people need and whether a ShelterBox response would be suitable.
Homes, roads, rail lines, schools, and thousands of acres of farmland are currently underwater or have been washed away leaving people without shelter, power, and livelihoods.
At least 200,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed with that number expected to rise significantly as flood waters recede.
Flooding in Bangladesh. Image provided by ShelterBox.
½ million people displaced from their homes
‘Flash floods are common in low-lying areas of the country; however, we know from initial assessments carried out by our partners in Bangladesh that many of the 11 districts affected are on higher ground,’ says Alice Jefferson, Head of Emergency Responses at ShelterBox.
Of course, being an area not prone to flooding, it means that people were less prepared – as were organisations to respond.
‘Houses in the region are largely made from mud and have been heavily waterlogged making them uninhabitable and leaving belongings ruined.’
‘More than half a million people have been displaced from their homes, so any ShelterBox response is likely to focus on supporting people with emergency shelter aid.’
The charity has just completed distributions of emergency shelter aid in the southwest of the country following Cyclone Remal.
It’s supported thousands of people with the materials to build emergency shelters working in partnership with local aid agency Uttaran.
ShelterBox has experience in the area having responded to Cyclone Sidr in 2007, flooding and the Rohingya crisis in 2017, and more recently monsoon flooding in 2019.
It also recently sent an emergency response team to the Caribbean ready to respond with emergency shelter aid for people left homeless by Hurricane Beryl.
