At Least 41 Dead, Millions Stranded Or Displaced In Bangladesh, Eastern India As Rain Continues

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Monsoon storms in Bangladesh and India have killed at least 41 people and unleashed devastating floods that left millions of others stranded, officials said on Saturday (June 18). The flooding in Bangladesh, described by a government expert as potentially the country’s worst since 2004, was exacerbated by the runoff from heavy rain across Indian mountains.

More rain has been forecast for the next two days. “Much of the country’s north-east is underwater and the situation is getting worse as heavy downpour continues,” Mr Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain, chief administrator of Bangladesh’s Sylhet region, told Reuters. The worst-hit Sunamganj district is almost cut off from the rest of the country, he said, adding that the army was helping the authorities to rescue those trapped and distributing relief.

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Mr Syed Rafiqul Haque, a former lawmaker and ruling party politician in Sunamganj district, said a humanitarian crisis could emerge if the floods did not recede soon and proper rescue operations were not conducted. “The situation is alarming,” he said. “There is no electricity, no road connection, no mobile network. People are in desperate need of immediate shelter and food."

Lightning triggered by the storms has killed at least 21 people in the country since Friday afternoon, police officials told AFP. Among them were three children aged between 12 and 14 who were struck by lightning on Friday in the rural town of Nandail. Another four people died when landslides hit their hillside homes in the port city of Chittagong, said the police.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/millions-stranded-as-floods-ravage-bangladesh-more-rain-forecast