Govt allocates Tk 7m, 100 tonnes of rice for flood-hit people in Bangladesh’s southeast

The government has allocated Tk 7 million in cash, 100 tonnes of rice and 21,000 packets of dry food for 1.1 million people affected by floods in five districts of the southeastern Chattogram division, reports bdnews24.com.

As the deadly floodwaters started to recede in some areas on Wednesday, the scars of the disaster became apparent.

Homes, roads, bridges and crops were completely destroyed or damaged by the flooding in many areas.

Heavy rain also caused utility poles to fall, cutting off electricity lines, mobile phone networks and internet connections at some places.

More than 45,000 people, including over 28,000 in Cox’s Bazar, moved to hundreds of shelters opened by the government, said a report by the disaster management and relief ministry.

Many families brought their livestock to the shelters.

The other districts badly affected by the flood are Chattogram, Bandarban, Rangamati and Feni.

Hundreds of thousands of people were still stranded by floodwater, said the government report.

The hilly districts also experienced landslides at dozens of places.

In Cox’s Bazar, a Rohingya woman and her child died in a landslide at a refugee camp while three others died after their mud home collapsed in Pekua Upazila, said State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman.

He said army and navy personnel were deployed to the affected areas on orders from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to rescue and evacuate people to the shelters.

The local administrations, police and fire service were also working on rescuing stranded people, the state minister said.