Bangladesh has called for international help to rebuild the flood-ravaged country as the country’s death toll from the monsoon deluge reached 500 on Thursday, officials said.
Almost half of Bangladesh’s 130-million population has been displaced by one of the worst seasonal floods to hit the country in decades. Millions have been left stranded on thousands of tiny islands created by the deluge.
The country’s Minister of Finance, Saifur Rahman, said the government and donor nations are jointly assessing the destruction caused by the rain-driven floods that struck the northern and central regions more than two weeks ago.
Monsoon downpours and upstream waters from India also swamped towns and villages in Bangladesh, inundating mud walled dwellings, rice farms, roads, bridges and factories.
The woes of the flood-prone country multiplied as heavy showers pounded the central districts including the capital, Dhaka, over the past two days, rescue workers said.
Rahman said help will be sought through a formal appeal to the international community to be launched next week after the damage assessment report is finalised.
According to the Bangladesh Economic Association more than 20-million of the flood-affected 60-million people are women, children and the elderly, and their needs have to be addressed immediately to avoid hunger and disease.
The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) fears that the economic losses suffered in the protracted flood can slow down growth and hamper the macro-economic stability of the low-income agrarian country.
”The ADB is ready to provide financial assistance along with other donor agencies for the reconstruction of the flood ravaged country,” said country director Toru Shibuichi.
The Disaster Management Office in Dhaka said there are enough relief materials available in the country for the immediate emergency, but assistance is needed for long-term flood rehabilitation plans, including the reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure.
Meanwhile, more areas of Dhaka and its neighbouring districts went under water on Thursday as the rivers encircling the capital city and commercial hub continued to rise.
Normal life and businesses have been crippled by the floods, which have forced buses and cars off the waterlogged streets. Nearly a third of Dhaka’s 10-million residents were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in flood shelters.
In devastating floods in 1988 about three-quarters of the country remained under water for more than two weeks. — Sapa-DPA