Half a million people in eastern Bangladesh were stranded by floodwaters on Thursday after a swollen river burst its banks and poured into more than 350 villages, officials said.
An earth embankment along the Gomoti river in Comilla district gave way on Wednesday evening and sent flood water gushing towards 360 nearby villages, said chief district administrator Tariqul Islam.
The deluge, which had affected about 500 000 people, is believed to have been caused by recent heavy rainfall across Bangladesh, he added.
In some places floodwater had reached roof level. In other places it was waist-high.
”I was working in my house with my son yesterday evening when we heard shouting and then found water gushing all round us,” mother-of-four Momena said.
”I immediately took my son and found some high ground. I couldn’t save anything and I don’t know where one of my other sons is.”
Thousands were expected to spend the night camping in the open on high ground such as roads and embankments. Others remained stranded in their flooded homes, Islam said.
The Comilla flooding follows flash floods in central and southern Bangladesh earlier this week caused by four days of almost continuous monsoon downpours. At least 19 people died.
The capital, Dhaka, experienced the heaviest rain in 50 years, bringing the city to a halt and closing schools, shops and offices.
Bangladesh was still reeling from floods in July and August that left more than 700 dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. Those floods were the worst since 1998 when Bangladesh suffered its worst inundation at the time. — Sapa-AFP