Army troops were called in to rescue thousands of people stranded by the massive floods that have devastated northeast India and Bangladesh, leaving millions of homes under water and cutting off transport links, they said. say authorities on Saturday.
In the Indian state of Assam, at least nine people have been killed in floods and 2 million have seen their homes flooded, according to the state disaster management agency. Lightning in parts of neighboring Bangladesh has left at least nine dead since Friday.
Both countries have called for help from their military, as more flooding with rains is expected to continue over the weekend.
Read more: At least 34 dead in heavy rains in northern India as floods overwhelm the country
In Sylhet, northeast of Bangladesh, on the banks of the Surma River, children were sitting at the window of a flooded house while other family members gathered in a bed inside their flooded house, some they wondered how to pass the test.
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“How can we eat (under these conditions)?” said Anjuman Ara Begum, standing in the water inside his kitchen. “We are living on muri (puffed rice) and chira (flattened rice) and other things given by people. What else can we do? We can’t cook. “
According to Hafiz Ahmed, the airport manager, flights to Osmani International Airport in Sylhet were suspended for three days as the waters almost reached the runway. Sylhet Sunamganj Road was also flooded, but motorcycles were advancing.
People cross flooded waters in Sylhet, Bangladesh, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Photo AP / Abdul Goni). MS
Water levels in the country’s major rivers were rising, according to Dhaka, the capital’s flood forecasting and warning center. The country has about 130 rivers.
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The center said the flood situation is likely to deteriorate in the most affected districts of Sunamganj and Sylhet in the northeast region, as well as in the districts of Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Rangpur in northern Bangladesh.
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The Brahmaputra, one of the largest rivers in Asia, broke its mud embankments, flooding 3,000 villages and farmland in 28 of Assam’s 33 districts on the Indian border.
2:28 Heavy rains in southern India cause heavy floods, at least 15 dead Heavy rains in southern India cause heavy flooding, at least 15 dead – October 17, 2021
“We expect moderate to heavy rainfall in various parts of Assam until Sunday. The volume of rainfall is unprecedented,” said Sanjay O’Neil, an official at Gauhati Weather Station, the capital of Assam.
Several train services were canceled in India amid the incessant rain of the last five days. In the town of Haflong, south of Assam, the railway station was under water and flooded rivers deposited mud and silt along the railway tracks.
The Indian military has mobilized to help disaster response agencies rescue stranded people and provide food and other commodities. Soldiers used speedboats and inflatable rafts to navigate submerged areas.
Read more: India’s deadliest floods in recent history and what caused them
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Last month, a sudden pre-monsoon flood, caused by a stream of water from upstream in the northeastern states of India, affected the northern and northeastern regions of Bangladesh, destroying crops. and damaging houses and roads. The country was just beginning to recover when fresh rains flooded the same areas again this week.
Bangladesh, a nation of 160 million people, is low-lying and faces threats from natural disasters such as floods and cyclones, exacerbated by climate change. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, about 17% of Bangladesh’s population would have to be relocated over the next decade if global warming persists at the current rate.
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