Flood death toll rises to 71, highest in Feni

Flood death toll rises to 71, highest in Feni

DHAKA, September 3, 2024 (BSS) – The total death toll from the floods has risen to 71 so far, including seven women and 19 children, as the deaths of four more people were reported today.

Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, KM Ali Reza, disclosed the information this afternoon during a press conference on the flood situation in the ministry's conference room.

Disaster management and relief advisers Faruk E Azam and Bir Protik and Secretary Md Kamrul Hasan were also present at the press conference.


Among the deaths, 19 were reported from Cumilla, 28 from Feni, six from Chattogram, 11 from Noakhali, one each from Khagrachhari, Brahmanbaria, Moulvibazar and Lakshmipur and three from Cox's Bazar districts. Besides, one person is still missing from Moulvibazar district, Ali Reza said.

He said the flood-affected districts were Feni, Cumilla, Chattogram, Khagrachhari, Noakhali, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Sylhet, Lakshmipur and Cox's Bazar.

The deputy secretary said the flood situation was improving in Cumilla, Feni, Noakhali and Lakshmipur districts, while there was an overall improvement in Moulvibazar district.

Ali Reza said the flood situation in Chattogram, Khagrachhari, Habiganj, Sylhet, Brahmanbaria and Cox's Bazar districts remained normal.

He said people are returning home from shelters as the overall flood situation in the country has improved significantly and communication systems have returned to normal in flood-affected areas.

The deputy secretary said that 5,024,202 people in 11 districts of the country were affected by the flood while 5,82,155 families were currently stranded.

A total of 285,996 people are currently housed in 3,612 emergency shelters, and 32,830 head of livestock have found shelter there. 469 medical teams are deployed to provide medical care to the affected population in the eleven districts affected by the floods, he said.

As part of the relief effort, 452,000,000 taka in cash, 20,650 tonnes of rice, 15,000 packets of dry food, 35,000,000 taka for baby food and 35,000,000 taka for animal feed have been allocated to the 11 flood-affected districts, he said.

Ali Reza said that the coordinators of the student anti-discrimination movement had collected 186,100 packages of relief items, including dry food, clothing and drinking water, and sent them to the needy population in the flooded areas through the Department of Disaster Management (DDM).

The deputy secretary said that the armed forces had distributed a total of 391,186 relief packages and 22,410 cooked meal packages in the flood-affected areas. About 42,957 people had been rescued and 50,257 people had received medical assistance.


About 153 people were rescued by helicopters and provided medical care, he said, adding that a total of 24 camps and 18 military-led medical teams were providing medical care in the flooded areas.


In addition, drinking water, water purification tablets, clothing, medicines, baby food and hygiene items were distributed, he said.

The control room of the Ministry of Disaster Prevention and Relief is open 24 hours a day and can provide information. The control room number is 0255101115.

People wishing to assist flood victims have been urged to send money to the Chief Adviser's Relief and Welfare Fund.

Interested persons have been requested to deposit or transfer money to the Chief Adviser's Relief and Welfare Fund Account. Account No: 0107333004093, Bank Name: Sonali Bank Corporate Branch, Chief Adviser's Office.