Bangladesh: Floods - Jul 1999

The 1999 monsoon arrived early, and from late June onwards, flooding and river erosion have caused significant damage to 41 out of the country's 64 districts. Victims of the 1998 floods (poor village day labourers, farmers and fishermen) were just beginning to recover economically, but are now struggling once again with the loss of livelihoods. In June alone, about 400,000 people were rendered helpless by the first spate of floods that hit nine districts, including the hilly tracts of Chittagong.

The flood situation worsened in July as major rivers continued to rise due to heavy rains in neighbouring states of India, and soon after in Bangladesh. More low-lying areas submerged one after the other bringing to 18 the total number of districts affected by mid-July. Houses were washed away by sweeping floodwaters as thousands of people rushed for refuge to higher grounds. The worst incident occurred on 12-14 July with the unprecedented collapse of the Gumti river embankment due to the rapid onrush of water from upstream. The collapse of the embankment immediately caused huge flooding in many areas of Comilla district, affecting 470,000 people who were caught totally unprepared. Government records showed this incident alone devastated more than 133,000 acres of rice land, 1,760 kms of road, and destroyed 41,386 houses.

As of 23 September 1999, reports compiled by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) local units and verified in the media, the number of flooded districts has risen to 41 while the number of people affected swelled to 3.5 million, a large majority of whom were rendered homeless. Further unconfirmed reports received from BDRCS local units showed: 19 confirmed dead; 1,100,000 acres of crops damaged; 126,000 houses damaged; 1,509 kms of roads damaged; 1,622 kms of embankment damaged; and 922 bridges/culverts damaged. (IFRC, 23 Sep 1999)