Floods Leave Hundreds of Thousands Stranded in India and Bangladesh

At least 15 people have died in the monsoon flooding across both countries as water levels continue to rise.
Floods Leave Hundreds of Thousands Stranded in India and Bangladesh
People navigate a flooded street following incessant rains in Feni, a coastal district in southeast Bangladesh bordering the Indian Tripura state, on Aug. 22, 2024. AP Photo
Guy Birchall
Updated:

Floods have stranded hundreds of thousands of people in northeast India and eastern Bangladesh, officials said on Thursday.

At least 11 were killed and thousands displaced as floods and mudslides ripped through Tripura state, India, since Wednesday, and another four people died in Bangladesh.

The two South Asian countries share common rivers along their border.

India’s Meteorological Department issued a red alert in Tripura on Wednesday, forcing local authorities to close schools for two days after downpours deluged several regions, including the state capital of Agartala.

There are more than 300 relief camps sheltering thousands of people.

Of the 11 who have died in India since the rains intensified on Monday, seven drowned or were washed away, while four were buried under mudslides.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and are focusing on providing relief to those displaced from their homes,” Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said.

In Bangladesh, a pregnant woman perished after she fell into waters at Akhaura in Brahmanbaria district, Bengali newspaper Kalbela reported.

The same paper said three others died from either drowning or being electrocuted.

Many in the worst-hit districts such as Cumilla, Feni, and Noakhali called for rescue as they lost power and roads became impassable.

Travel and communication were severed between the southeastern port city of Chattogram and the capital, Dhaka, and as parts of a major highway were submerged.

Rescue Attempts

The Bangladesh Flood Forecasting and Warning Center said on Thursday that the water levels were still rising in many of the rivers in the nation’s eastern, northeastern, and southeastern regions.

About a dozen volunteers who rushed to the scene with boats and speedboats in the region struggled to reach many of the affected people as they failed to communicate with them because the victims’ mobile numbers could not be reached.

Many areas have no electricity, the government said.

“We are taken shelter at a house where about 35 people need to be rescued soon. The water is still rising and now we are on the rooftop with our small kids and elderly family members,” Sonia Akter, a mother of a 2-year-old girl, told The Associated Press from the scene at Feni, pleading for help.

Mohammad Masum, a resident of Feni district, told Reuters: “I haven’t seen so much water in the last 20 years. Everything in my house is wrecked because the water has risen to waist level.”

People ride on the back of a vehicle as they navigate a flooded street following incessant rains in Feni, a coastal district in southeast Bangladesh bordering the Indian Tripura state, on Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo)
People ride on the back of a vehicle as they navigate a flooded street following incessant rains in Feni, a coastal district in southeast Bangladesh bordering the Indian Tripura state, on Aug. 22, 2024. AP Photo

Bangladesh residents were seen evacuating with their belongings by boat and other makeshift transport devices as knee-deep water flooded their homes.

The military and other authorities have begun rescue operations in the region.

While both India and Bangladesh have been affected by the flood, many Bangladeshis blamed their larger neighbor for the flash floods, saying that India had opened a river dam in Tripura, causing sudden floods across the border.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs has denied those allegations in a statement.

“We would like to point out that the catchment areas of Gumti River that flows through India and Bangladesh have witnessed the heaviest rains of this year over the last few days,” the statement said. “The flood in Bangladesh is primarily due to waters from these large catchments downstream of the dam.”

Monsoon rains in the subcontinent nations of India and Bangladesh typically begin in June, with the two countries sharing 54 rivers that flow from the Himalayas into the Bay of Bengal.

An analysis by the World Bank Institute in 2015 estimated that some 3.5 million people in Bangladesh were at risk of annual river flooding.

Guy Birchall
Guy Birchall
Author
Guy Birchall is a UK-based journalist covering a wide range of national stories with a particular interest in freedom of expression and social issues.