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Bangladesh: Floods and Landslides - Jul 2020

Disaster description

Monsoon rainfall and onrush of water from hilly areas upstream have inundated districts in the northern and eastern areas of Bangladesh, causing extensive damage. Thousands of people in 7 districts of the country are marooned or displaced, and their homes flooded. Media report over 164,000 people marooned across Jamalpur District and Rangpur Division. On 30 June, the river water levels were above danger in 14 locations across the country. International humanitarian organizations are assisting the national government with preparedness measures, while relief items have been distributed to the affected communities. On 1-2 July, rainfalls and thunderstorms are forecast over north and east Bangladesh. Water levels are expected to rise further over the coming days (ECHO, 1 Jul 2020)

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), due to strong monsoon, steep pressure gradient lies over the North Bay of Bengal. Maritime ports have been advised to host local cautionary signal No 3. Due to its influence moderately heavy to very heavy falls are likely to occur at many places all over the country. The National Disaster Response Coordination Centre (NDRCC) of Bangladesh reports that on 5 July, more than 15 districts are affected with a case load of 356,451 households representing more than 1.5 million people in these districts. (ECHO, 6 Jul 2020)

Earlier, during the last week of June 2020, BDRCS based on the forecast, has activated its Early Action Protocol (EAP) to support 3,800 households in three districts which have more than 25 per cent of household assets damaged. After showing a slight improvement last week, the flood situation has deteriorated again as major rivers in the country are flowing above the danger level. According to the current forecast, this flood has 50 per cent chances to cross 1 in 10 years on 21 July. Thousands of people in low-lying areas are witnessing the second phase of floods this season due to rise of water levels of major rivers in the country. (IFRC, 13 Jul 2020)

Over a million people were marooned in dozens of villages from 10 to 11 July 2020 as roaring rivers swept away embankments in the districts where some of the embankments were already under water since 26 June. Thousands of people are expected to leave their homes throughout the beginning of this week to seek shelter in higher grounds as the Water Development Board warned that the onrush of water from upstream would further intensify. (IFRC, 13 Jul 2020)

Monsoon rainfall and onrush of water from hilly areas upstream have inundated districts in the northern and eastern areas of Bangladesh, causing extensive damage. The situation is still evolving and yet to reach its peak. The National Disaster Response Coordination Centre (NDRCC) of Bangladesh reported that as of 13 July more than 15 districts with some 1.3 million people are affected. NDRCC also informed that more than 280,000 people are marooned in flood water. On 11 July, the final activation trigger for the Anticipatory Action Pilot 2020 was reached, initiating cash assistance, interventions to support food security and agriculture, and ensure continued access to lifesaving SRHR, GBV and PSS services. (OCHA, 14 Jul 2020)

As of 16 July, a total of 2,246,472 people in 18 districts are affected by fresh floods, and six people have died. Total 1,086 flood shelters are opened in 18 districts and 55,930 people have taken refuge there. New flooding areas in Nilphamari, Jamalpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Natore, Gaibandha, Bogra, Netrokona, Feni, Habiganj, and Sirajganj were inundated further due to overflow of major rivers on 13 July. As the flood inundated many low-lying areas in northern and north-eastern regions over the past few days, marooned people have set up basic shelter on embankments, roads, highland and flood centres with their domestic animal and valuables. (IFRC, 17 Jul 2020)

According to National Disaster Response Coordination Center (NDRCC) report issued on July 17, 18 districts (Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Naogaon, Rangpur, Sirajganj, Bogra, Jamalpur, Tangail, Netrokona, Rajbari, Faridpur, Madaripur, Manikganj, Feni, Sunamganj, Sylhet) of Northern, NorthEastern and South-Eastern Bangladesh are most affected due to continuation of weeklong monsoon rains in the upstream regions and throughout the country. The flood situation is currently worsening in those districts where roads are cut off and hundreds of thousands of people are stranded. NDRCC preliminary report inform that 2.4 million people are affected in the 18 district and 548,816 families lost their houses. (UNRC, 18 Jul 2020)

Flooding in Bangladesh continues to grow more severe, with about 1.4 million people currently affected. Current estimates indicate that nearly half of all districts in the country will be affected in the coming weeks. (OCHA, 17 Jul 2020)

Monsoon rain continues to hit Bangladesh. According to media, the number of fatalities has reached 67. Thousands of people in low-lying areas are affected by flood or landslide events. Approximately 56,000 people were displaced to 1,086 flood shelters across 18 Districts. Road communication in some areas was damaged by floods, isolating several sub-districts. According to Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), the water level of major river basins is at severe flood risk in at least 3 localities, and at flood risk in 17 points across the country. Flood situation is likely worsen over north-west and central Bangladesh in the coming days, until the end of July. (ECHO, 20 Jul 2020)

According to the National Disaster Response Coordination Center (NDRCC), 2.4 million people are reportedly affected, and over 548,000 families had their homes flooded or water-logged. Flood protection infrastructures such as embankments and dykes are already damaged. The COVID-19 pandemic context creates further challenges to disaster response and recovery efforts as measures such as physical distancing need to be observed in order to minimize the risk of infections among the affected people, especially those in emergency shelters. (OCHA, 21 Jul 2020)

Official authorities reports, as of 25 July, 93 fatalities, around 3.3 million affected people, and around 732,000 waterlogged people across 21 Districts of the country. The worst affected Districts by the flood are the Jamalpur (Mymensingh Division) and the Sunamganj Districts (Sylhet Division). (ECHO, 27 Jul 2020)

As of 28 July, 4.7 million people are affected and 984,819 houses inundated. More than 150,000 ha of paddy fields were damaged, along with thousands of latrines and tube wells. As per the Needs Assessment Working Group report, 24% of the country is inundated, approximately 56,000 people have been displaced in 1,086 flood shelters. Several districts are isolated due to road communication damaged. Over 1,900 schools are damaged, leaving 807,467 children without access to education. (ECHO, 28 Jul 2020)

Heavy monsoon rains in upstream regions continue to cause flooding in 30 districts in the north, north-east and south-east of the country, affecting some 5.4 million people. As of 2 August, 135 deaths, mostly as a result of drowning, have been reported. Flooding has damaged houses, dykes and embankments, water sources, hygiene facilities, and has severely impacted livelihoods, especially in the agricultural sector. Access to basic services such as health care and education have been disrupted. Humanitarian partners continue to respond the needs of affected people in coordination with the Government of Bangladesh. (OCHA, 4 Aug 2020)

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) the ongoing floods resulted in over 220 deaths so far. More than 1.27 million houses have been partially or fully damaged by the floods and over 167,000 families remain displaced. In addition, over 170,000 hectares of agricultural land have been affected. While flood waters are receding in some areas, riverbanks continue to erode and pose risks to surrounding communities. (OCHA, 19 Aug 2020)

Heay rain and gusty winds over the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar this week have affected 10,117 people (1,208 households), including 775 displaced people across 34 Rohingya refugee camps in Ukhia and Teknaf. 1,900 shelters were damaged as well as other infrastructure. Flooding has also been reported at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Naikhongchhari Upazila of Cox’s Bazar, where thousands of Rohingya refugees remain stranded. The ongoing monsoon and COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the suffering of affected refugees. (ECHO, 19 Aug 2020)

101,400 people have been affected in the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, including 8,736 who have been displaced, 41 injured and 14 deaths. (ECHO, 20 Aug 2020)

Flooding due to heavy rains and high tides in low-lying areas of Satkhira districts in Southwest Bangladesh have marooned about 100,000 people. Many houses, fish farms, betel vines and vast tracts of croplands have been damaged. Intermittent heavy rains and gusty winds continue to affect the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar. With 3,490 newly affected in the last 48 hours, the total number of people affected by the 2020 monsoon in the refugee camps has risen to 109,312, while 8,911 are displaced, 41 injured and 14 have died. (ECHO, 24 Aug 2020)

As of 1 October, media report around 125,000 people affected, of which 100,000 in Rangpur District (particularly in Rangpur City), and 25,000 more across Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat and Thakurgaon Districts. In addition, hundreds of damaged buildings and several flooded roads were reported across all of the aforementioned District and in the Kurigram District. (ECHO, 1 Oct 2020)

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