At least 108 people have lost their lives in the floods in Bangladesh triggered by torrential rains and onrush of water from hills across the Indian borders.
National Disaster Response Coordination Centre (NDRCC) officials said that “the floods caused the deaths of 108 people in 16 districts and widespread damage to habitation, crops, roads and highways across vast swathes of the country”.
An NDRCC official said most victims have drowned but some died in boat capsizes in the flood-hit areas.
He said that at least six million people have been affected by the floods while thousands of families were forced flee home since the first week of June.
The official said flood situation is now improving in most of the districts with water levels in many rivers receding.
Millions of people in Bangladesh, criss-crossed by more than 230 rivers, suffer from flooding as the low-lying country experiences seasonal floods every year during the June-September monsoon when rivers that feed into the Bay of Bengal burst their banks.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier urged officials to remain alert to tackle flood, saying some parts of the country have been flooded and the flood water would slowly come down to the mid areas of the country by the end of August.
