DHAKA: At least 20 people have died and more than 5.2 million have been affected in Bangladesh by floods caused by relentless monsoon rains and upstream river water, officials said on Sunday.
The floodwaters have left many people isolated and in urgent need of food, clean water, medicine, and dry clothes, particularly in remote areas where blocked roads in several districts have hampered rescue and relief efforts.
Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus said in a televised address that the government has adopted all necessary measures to ensure a swift return to normality for flood victims, working in coordination with both government and private institutions.
Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is leading an interim government that was sworn in after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following a student-led uprising this month.
Abdul Halim, a 65-year-old farmer from a village in the Comilla district, said his mud hut was suddenly swept away by a 10-foot-high surge of floodwater in the middle of the night.
“There are no goods and no water. Barely anyone has come with the relief (aid) deep inside the villages. You have to physically go close to the main road to collect it,” he told Reuters television. Some people in Bangladesh have alleged that the floods were caused by the opening of dam sluice gates in neighboring India, an assertion New Delhi has rejected.
“We have begun discussions with neighboring countries to prevent future flood situations,” Yunus said.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department has warned that flood conditions could persist if the monsoon rains continue, as water levels are receding very slowly.
More than 400,000 people have taken refuge in 3,500 shelters in the flood-hit districts, with military and border guards helping in the rescue and relief efforts, authorities said. An analysis in 2015 by the World Bank Institute estimated that 3.5 million people in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, were at risk of annual river flooding. Scientists attribute the exacerbation of such catastrophic events to climate change.
“The impact of this year’s monsoon rains has been widespread and devastating,” said Kabita Bose, Country Director of Plan International Bangladesh.
“Entire communities have been completely inundated, and there are now millions of people, including children, in need of safe shelter and lifesaving humanitarian assistance,” she said.
Twenty dead, 5.2 million affected in Bangladesh floods
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Twenty dead, 5.2 million affected in Bangladesh floods
- The floodwaters have left many people isolated and in urgent need of food, clean water, medicine and dry clothes
- Bangladesh Meteorological Department has warned that flood conditions could persist if the monsoon rains continue
Cambodia says Thailand bombs casino hub on border
- The renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors this month has killed at least 21 people in Thailand and 17 in Cambodia, while displacing around 800,000
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia said Thailand’s military on Thursday bombed the casino town of Poipet, a major crossing between the two nations, as foreign powers pressured them to halt reignited border clashes.
Thai forces “dropped two bombs in the area of Poipet Municipality, Banteay Meanchey Province” at around 11:00 am (0400 GMT) Thursday, the Cambodian defense ministry said in a statement.
Thailand has not yet confirmed any strike on Poipet — a bustling casino hub popular with Thai gamblers.
The renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors this month has killed at least 21 people in Thailand and 17 in Cambodia, while displacing around 800,000, officials said.
The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border and a smattering of ancient temple ruins situated on the frontier.
Each side has blamed the other for instigating the fresh fighting and traded accusations of attacks on civilians.
Thailand said Tuesday that between 5,000 and 6,000 Thai nationals remained stranded in Poipet after Cambodia closed its land border crossings with its neighbor.
Cambodia’s interior ministry said the border closures were a “necessary measure” to reduce risks to civilians amid the ongoing combat, adding that air travel remained an option for those seeking to leave.
At least four casinos in Cambodia have been damaged by Thai strikes, the interior ministry said this week.
- ‘Shuttle-diplomacy’ -
Five days of fighting between Cambodia and Thailand in July killed dozens of people before a truce was brokered by the United States, China and Malaysia, and then broken within months.
US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly intervened in the long-standing conflict this year, claimed last week that the two countries had agreed to a new ceasefire.
But Bangkok denied any truce had been agreed, and fighting with artillery, tanks, drones and jets has continued daily since a border skirmish earlier this month sparked the latest round of conflict.
China said it was sending its special envoy for Asian affairs to Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday for a “shuttle-diplomacy trip” to help bridge the gaps and “rebuild peace.”
“Through its own way, China has been working actively for deescalation,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement late Wednesday.
Foreign ministers from ASEAN regional bloc nations are due to meet on Monday in Malaysia for emergency talks aimed at finding a diplomatic solution.
“Our duty is to present the facts but more important is to press upon them that it is imperative for them to secure peace,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told journalists late Wednesday.
“We are appealing to them to immediately stop this frontline offensive and if possible, an immediate ceasefire,” Anwar said at his official residence in Putrajaya, adding that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the talks.
European Commission vice president Kaja Kallas said in a statement that she had spoken with the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand on Wednesday, offering the European Union’s support for ceasefire monitoring with satellite imagery.
“The conflict between Thailand and Cambodia must not be allowed to spiral further. That’s why the ceasefire needs to be immediately restored,” Kallas said.
