The Department of Disaster Management in Bangladesh has said that the death toll from the flood situation that began in mid August has increased to 117, according to local media reports
As of Sunday 20 August, over 6.1 million people in 31 districts were affected, with around 300,000 in temporary camps set up by authorities.
Among the worst hit areas is the district of Kurigram, where 30 deaths have been reported. On 20 August Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Kurigram and also parts of Dinajpur district, to see the devastation caused by the ongoing flood.
Local media also say that the flooding has damaged 280 dams, around 2,800 kilometres of roads and 123 bridges and culverts throughout the country.
Rivers and Rainfall
Among the 90 monitored water level stations, 27 river stations were recorded flowing above danger level, according to a bulletin issued by the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) 21 August.
FFWC added that the Brahmaputra-Jamuna, Padma, Surma and Kushiyara rivers are in falling trend, while the Ganges river is in slightly rising trend.
In the last few days some rivers have shown a rising trend, despite already being above the danger mark. These include the Dhaleswari at Jagir, the Mohananda at Rohanpur and Chapai-Nawabganj, the Lakhya at Lakhpur and Narayanganj, and the Padma at Sureswar.
The heavy rain appears to have eased over the last 2 to 3 days in Bangladesh. FFWC reports that, since 19 August, the only significant rainfall totals (above 50 mm) were Kanaighat, Sylhet District, 72 mm on 20 August and Sylhet, Sylhet district 66 mm on 19 August.
