Bangladesh Drowning Under a Sea of Flood Waters, Sewage

Written by Doug Rekenthaler, Managing Editor, DisasterRelief.org

Throughout its 27-year history, Bangladesh often has found itself under siege from monsoon rains, typhoons, and other meteorological hazards associated with a country that, for the most part, is barely situated above sea level. But this year has been different....

At least 70 percent of the country is said to be under water following two months of endless rains that pushed the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Megna rivers over their banks. The relentless assault has broken or severely compromised levees that historically have protected at least some areas of the country, including the capital city of Dhaka.

At least two million people have been forced to flee the city in what officials describe as the worst floods ever to hit the country. (The good news, however, is that only one-third of the city has been inundated, thanks in large part to new levees put in place after the devastating floods of 1988.)

With at least 70 percent of their country under water, Bangladeshis have become a nation of boat people.

Particularly worriesome to local authorities, health officials and humanitarian groups is the length of time the water has been present. Some regions essentially have been under water for two months, making them fertile breeding ground for disease. Residents continue to go about their daily lives, albeit while wading through chest-deep water populated with the bloated corpses of animals, human waste and raw sewage.

Humanitarian officials have reported that at least a million people are suffering from dysentery, fever, bronchitis and other illnesses, and more serious epidemics are possible. Furthermore, as flood waters dissipate, stagnant pools of water will serve as breeding grounds for malaria-carrying moquitoes.

Few people have access to clean water, food, or medicine, and millions of people have taken up semi-permanent residence atop their homes. Before setting out in search of relief supplies, parents routinely tie their children to the roofs in order to ensure that they don't slip off and drown. Casualty figures vary greatly, although the consensus is that at least 1,000 people have died since the flooding began earlier this summer. More than 35 million people have been made homeless.

Although flood waters recently began to subside, officials don't expect any real relief for at least two more weeks. But given the severity and longevity of the floods, dissipation of the flood waters will not bring an end to the crisis.

Like much of Bangladesh, the capital city of Dhaka remains under water and at risk of epidemic.

Agricultural losses are said to be staggering. Two of the country's three harvests have been destroyed, making food a critical priority in coming months. Bangladesh typically imports about two million metric tons of rice and wheat per year. But with this summer's crop losses, that figure is expected at least to double.

In a statement addressing Bangladesh's grim short-term future, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) noted: "Three quarters of a million hectares of agricultural land are currently submerged and most of the autumn rice crops are ruined. The effects of the flood, in particular on the health and economic conditions of the population, will persist long after the water recedes, with the worst period being until the next crop has been harvested."

In fact, United Nations (U.N.) health officials who recently visited Bangladesh have warned that the worst is yet to come. Michael Elmquist of the U.N.'s Office for Coodination of Humanitarian Affairs this week warned that between 10 million and 20 million Bangladeshis are at risk of famine and epidemic unless massive amounts of foreign aid is received soon.

The IFRC said hospitals in Dhaka already have reported 175,000 cases of diarrhea in people who drank polluted waters or ate rotten food.