Flooding in India and Bangladesh has left at least 18 people dead and millions more stranded, and there are fears that climate change could intensify extreme weather.
The militaries of both nations have been requested to assist with the unprecedented deluge, which officials fear may worsen throughout the weekend as more rain is predicted.
Friday, nine persons were killed by lightning in Bangladesh.
At least nine people perished in the floods in the Indian state of Assam, and two million dwellings were swamped, according to the state disaster management office.
The Brahmaputra, one of the greatest rivers in Asia, overflowed its mudbanks, flooding 3,000 villages and croplands in 28 of Assam’s 33 districts.
Sanjay O’Neil, an employee at the meteorological station in Gauhati, the capital of Assam, stated that the amount of precipitation was unusual. We anticipate moderate to heavy precipitation in numerous regions of Assam through Sunday.
Several railway services were canceled as a result of five days of nonstop rainfall in India. Floodwaters inundated a complete railway station in Halfong, southern Assam, and deposited mud and silt along the rails.
The Indian military has been called to assist other disaster relief organizations in rescuing stranded individuals and delivering food and commodities to those whose homes are flooded.
An army official stated, “We are utilizing speedboats and inflatable rafts to rescue flood victims.”
The lowest-lying districts of Bangladesh closest to the Indian border are the most affected.
The flood forecasting and warning center in Dhaka, the nation’s capital, reports that water levels are rising in all major rivers across the country. The flood-prone nation has approximately 130 rivers.
The flooding is expected to worsen in the northeastern districts of Sunamganj and Sylhet, as well as in the northern districts of Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari, and Rangpur, according to the center.
The Osmani International Airport in Sylhet has canceled flights for three days because floodwaters have nearly touched the runway, according to airport manager Hafiz Ahmed.
Bangladesh experiences a lengthy and rainy monsoon season and tropical cyclones, which are created in the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal.
As a result of human-caused global warming, the South Asian nation is seeing hotter summers, higher rivers, and more flooding during increasingly irregular monsoons.
The altered weather patterns portend poor news for crop yields and the spread of disease. WaterAid has warned that contaminated water poses a high danger of illness epidemics.
“Water and sanitation facilities will be damaged and washed away,” warned Hossain I. Adib, acting national director for WaterAid, about “the worst floods in decades.”
As toilets and latrines overflow, clean water would become contaminated, increasing the danger of disease outbreaks, he stated as he advocated for improved access to clean water.
If global warming continues at its current rate, the IPCC estimates that approximately 17 percent of Bangladesh’s population will need to be moved within the next decade or two due to increasing sea levels.
