The Bangladeshi government announced today that 51 people have been killed and dozens injured as floods and landslides swept through the south-east of the country, triggered by heavy monsoon rains continuing since last week.
According to the government, the disaster has affected more than one million people across seven administrative districts. Cox's Bazar recorded the highest death toll, with 28 fatalities, most of them Rohingya refugees, while the remaining deaths were distributed across the districts of Chattogram, Bandarban, Rangamati, and Moulvibazar. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief confirmed that more than 38,000 affected individuals had been evacuated to temporary shelters.
Mustafa Kamal, an official at the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, forecast that rainfall would continue over northern and north-eastern Bangladesh and the Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya until Tuesday morning. He warned of rising river levels and further flooding in low-lying areas, as the capital Dhaka experienced severe traffic congestion following the inundation of several of its districts.