Floods In Bangladesh Force 40,000 People To Evacuate

DOC ILLUSTRATION/UNICEF/UN0730487/Bashir

JAKARTA - Floods in Bangladesh swept through houses and closed schools. The flood caused tens of thousands of people to flee.

Heavy rains are predicted to occur in the next few days which could worsen the situation.

About 40,000 people have been displaced in government shelters and more than 600 medical teams have been formed to treat flood victims.

Television footage shows flooded roads, damaged bridges and dams, as well as villagers crossing knee-high water. Farmers must also save livestock from heavy water.

Bangladeshi residents are used to flooding, but the water rises so high and fast in lowland areas that people are forced to take shelter in anything, even rafts made of banana trees, said LiAKAth Ali, head of the BRAC climate change program.

The local meteorological agency predicts rain will occur in the central and southern regions, but the overflowing of the Brahmaputra river is expected to recede in the next few days.

Heavy rain in India's upstream region means suffering is far from over. We have taken action to deal with this situation," said Rezwanul Rahman, head of Bangladesh's disaster management department.

Seasonal monsoon rains, which began in late May, sparked major floods in India and neighboring Bangladesh in recent years.

The floodwaters began to recede in Assam, India, which is located north of Bangladesh, authorities said.

Over the past 24 hours, six people have died from rain and flood-related incidents, bringing the state's death toll to 72 since May.