Bangladesh: two million people hit by floods

Evacuation of a flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in the suburb of Sylhet, on June 17, 2022, in Bangladesh.

AFP - -

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1 min

In Bangladesh, more than two million people are believed to be trapped by the waters.

The northeast of the country is overwhelmed and the situation could worsen this Saturday, June 18.

A new disaster in this country of 160 million inhabitants particularly vulnerable to climate change.

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With our correspondent in Bangalore,

Last month, a flood hit these northern and northeastern parts of Bangladesh, destroying crops, ravaging homes and roads and killing at least 12 people.

The country was barely catching its breath when it was hit by a devastating second monsoon.

In an attempt to come to the aid of the inhabitants whose houses are flooded and who live without electricity, the army has been deployed.

Many have found refuge on boats but the task promises to be immense as many regions are submerged, in particular Sunamganj or Sylhet, where the airport is unusable.

One of the most vulnerable countries to climate change 

With a low elevation relative to the sea, 130 rivers fed by the Himalayas with accelerating ice melt, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events such as cyclones, Bangladesh is one of of the countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world.

According to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, around 17% of Bangladesh's 160 million people will have to relocate over the next decade if warming continues at the current rate.

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• Bangladeshi

• Natural disasters

• Climate change