Death toll from floods hits 71

The death toll from the recent flooding in 11 districts has reached 71, said KM Ali Reza, additional secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, on Tuesday.

Eleven districts in the east of Bangladesh – Feni, Cumilla, Chattogram, Khagrachhari, Noakhali, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Sylhet, Lakshmipur, and Cox’s Bazar – have been experiencing flood conditions for 15 days.

The flooding in the Chattogram, Khagrachhari, Habiganj, Sylhet, Brahmanbaria, and Cox’s Bazar districts has completely returned to normal, Reza said at the briefing. The situation in Moulvibazar has improved and the situation in Feni, Cumilla, Noakhali, and Lakshmipur is improving.

Seventy-one deaths from the flooding have been reported so far. Of the dead, 45 are men, seven are women, and 19 are children. Nineteen people died in Cumilla, 28 in Feni, six in Chattogram, one in Khagrachhari, 11 in Noakhali, one in Brahmanbaria, one in Lakshmipur, three in Cox’s Bazar, and one in Moulvibazar.

Currently, 3,612 shelters have been opened to flood victims. A total of 285,995 people and 31,203 heads of livestock are still taking refuge at these shelters.

A total of 186,100 packets of dried food, clothes, and water collected by the Anti-discrimination Student Movement have been distributed in the flood-affected areas by the Directorate of Disaster Management.