In the neighboring Indian state of Assam, at least 17 people were killed during a wave of floods that began this month, police officials said Sunday. Many of Bangladesh’s rivers have risen to dangerous levels and heavy rainfall from India’s mountains has exacerbated the situation, said Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, head of the State Flood Prevention and Warning Center. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Thousands of police and military personnel have been deployed to parts of the country to assist in search and rescue efforts. Some 105,000 people have been evacuated so far, but police officials estimate that more than four million are still trapped. People board a boat as they seek refuge during an extensive flood in the northeastern part of the country, in Sylhet, Bangladesh, June 19, 2022. REUTERS / Kazi Salahuddin Razu read more Syed Rafiqul Haque, a former member of parliament and politician of the ruling party in the Sunamganj district, said the country was facing a humanitarian crisis if proper rescue operations were not carried out. “Almost the entire Sylhet-Sunamganj area is under water and millions of people have been displaced,” he said, adding that the victims had no food, no drinking water and no communication networks. Regional officials said about 3.1 million people had been displaced, 200,000 of whom were living in government-run makeshift shelters on elevated embankments or other plateaus. Bangladesh and India have experienced increasingly extreme weather events in recent years, causing large-scale damage. Environmentalists warn that climate change could lead to more disaster, especially in low- and densely populated Bangladesh. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Ruma Paul, Zarir Hussain. Edited by Rupam Jain and Emelia Sithole-Matarise Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
