"It feels like we’re counting the days until we die here”: Bangladesh floods leave more than half a million stranded
Almost half a million people have been forced to seek refuge in schools and temporary shelters in Bangladesh following some of the worst flooding in the country’s history. The floods have affected more than 5.8 million people and left at least 52 dead.
Powerful photos released by ActionAid today show the extent of the devastation, which has left millions in dire need of food, shelter and clean water. Around 300,000 hectares of land has been flooded, causing major crop damage and threatening food security, according to new research by ActionAid.
Tajnahar Begum, 24, was forced to flee to a temporary shelter with her 5-year-old son after flood water submerged their home. There are around 22 families in the shelter, all of whom have lost their homes to the flood waters. The roads around them have all been destroyed, leaving them cut off from any immediate help.
Tajnahar receives a small amount of dried food at the shelter, but it is not enough to feed her son, and she is getting desperate.
"The water in our home was knee-deep," she says, crying. "I had no money, no way to prepare. I left our home with nothing, hoping to find safety here, but now I can't even properly feed my child."
Abdul Hai, 59, lives in Noakhali Sadar, one of the worst-hit districts. His home, where he has lived with his family for decades, is under water, and his livestock have been lost in the deluge.
“In my 59 years, I’ve never seen a flood like this,” he said. "My home has been washed away … There’s no clean water, no proper food … No aid has reached our shelter yet. Everyone is worried about what will happen next. It feels like we’re counting the days until we die here."
Abdul and his family of nine have taken refuge in a nearby primary school, now a makeshift shelter for over 100 people, mostly women and children. He has developed a skin condition from the flood water. "My feet have been like this since the flood. They’re in terrible pain," he said. "Many others here are in the same condition. There’s no medical care available, so we’re using mustard oil as a remedy. When your life itself is in danger, who has time to worry about their feet?"
There are around 25 children living in the shelter, and most of them have become sick from the floodwater. But the roads are gone, and with them, any hope of medical relief. When Rahima’s son also developed a fever, she had no choice but to take him out on a small boat to search for medical help in another village.
Farah Kabir, ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director, said: "This is one of the worst floods in Bangladesh’s history. The scale of the destruction is overwhelming. Millions of people have lost their homes, livelihoods and animals and are in dire need of aid. Our teams are doing everything they can to get aid to those in need and our dedicated youth volunteers are travelling by small boats to get crucial supplies to stranded families.
“Families will be left reeling from these floods for years to come, and the irreversible loss and damage to livelihoods must be recognised for what it is: the result of a climate crisis which Bangladesh did very little to bring about. World Leaders at COP29 later this year must finally agree on a climate finance goal to deliver the trillions needed to help frontline countries like Bangladesh.”
ActionAid has launched an urgent fundraising appeal to help families affected by the floods. They aim to provide initial emergency support to around 15,000 affected families and are already delivering emergency aid including food, clean drinking water and emergency medicine.
