The social action arm of the Catholic Church in Bangladesh has dispatched assessment teams to communities devastated by recent flash floods across several districts.
The organization said that these teams are gathering information about the potential impacts of the calamity, including losses and damages, to ascertain the immediate needs of the communities.
Since August 20, 2024, Bangladesh has been grappling with severe flooding triggered by heavy rainfall and the release of water from upstream regions in India.
The floods have inundated several districts, including Feni, Noakhali, Comilla, Lakshmipur, Brahmanbaria, Cox’s Bazar, Khagrachhari, Chattogram, Habiganj, and Moulvibazar, causing widespread disruption and damage.
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief reported on August 23, 2024, that the ongoing floods have affected approximately 4.5 million people across 77 upazilas in 11 districts.
Currently, 193,864 individuals are taking refuge in 3,170 shelters, alongside 17,848 livestock. The sudden floods have also claimed the lives of 13 individuals, including two women.
Caritas Bangladesh said it is actively working to support as many impacted households as possible. Social action workers have been providing dry food, drinking water, and cooked meals to 11,000 people affected by the crisis in the five most impacted upazilas (sub-districts) within the districts of Khagrachari, Cumilla, Noakhali, and Lakshmipur.
Caritas Bangladesh staff, volunteers, and local churches have rescued over 5,000 individuals, placing them in 12 shelters, which include two primary schools and ten cyclone shelters.
On the ground, five Caritas teams are assisting communities and local governments with food distribution, evacuation, and the provision of other life-saving materials. Local Caritas offices are also ensuring a continuous power supply to the shelters.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), all communication with the six upazilas of Feni has been disconnected as of the early morning of August 24, 2024.
Communication with the Muhuri and Halda river stations has been completely severed, resulting in an inability to collect any information from these areas.
Thousands of families have been displaced, facing significant damage to their property, crops, and local infrastructure.
In response to the crisis, the military has been deployed to assist in relief efforts, which include food distribution and rescue operations in various districts such as Comilla, Feni, and Khagrachhari.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) reports that approximately 11 percent of mobile towers in ten flood-affected districts have become inoperative, with 92 percent of towers in Feni district alone out of service due to power outages and submerged conditions.
