As floods hit Bangladesh, about 300,000 people have sought safety in emergency shelters. This week, monsoon rains caused floods and landslides in Bangladesh and India, killing at least 42 people.
Residents like 60-year-old Lufton Nahar in Feni, on the India-Bangladesh border, experienced life-threatening conditions. “Water is flowing above our roof,” Nahar said inside a relief shelter, recounting her brother’s boat rescue that saved her.
Bangladesh, with 170 million inhabitants and hundreds of rivers, experiences yearly monsoon floods. The frequency and severity of these catastrophes are increasing due to climate change. Water damage has impacted daily life and business on the highways and rail links that connect Dhaka to Chittagong.
Bangladesh saw major political instability before the disaster. Student revolutionaries overthrew dictatorial leader Sheikh Hasina weeks ago, installing Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as interim leader. Ordinary residents, headed by the same students, are crowdfunding and organising relief operations despite the crisis, showing perseverance.
Bangladesh struggles to recover from natural and political instability, with 4.5 million people affected and more rain expected.
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