Millions of people affected by floods in Bangladesh and Pakistan

The worst monsoon rains in years have hit both Bangladesh and Pakistan in recent weeks, with hundreds of lives lost and millions of people left stranded and in desperate need of help.

In Pakistan, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is reporting that 244 people had died as of 26 August, including 121 children, while flooding has caused substantial damage to roads and bridges across various provinces and regions.

In Sindh, almost 10,000 acres of crops have been damaged and 444 livestock were reported dead across the country. Sindh has also seen the highest number of homes damaged by the rains. 

Latest weather forecasts indicate that more flooding can be expected in both rural and urban areas up to and including 31 August.  

In Bangladesh, this is the fourth natural disaster to have occurred in as many months, and according to Manish Kumar Agrawal, country director for Concern in Bangladesh, more than 40% of the country's population has been affected.

"[We've had] Cyclone Remal in May, the Northeastern floods in June, Northern floods in July and now the flash floods in eastern Bangladesh," Manish says. 

"It’s estimated that over 20 million people across 40% of Bangladesh have been affected due to these disasters. Urgent humanitarian support is needed in flood-affected districts to save lives.”

He adds that these latest flash floods are far worse than anything seen in recent years.

“Bangladesh is experienced in dealing with heavy rains during monsoon season, but these rains are unlike what many people have seen in decades. Climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events."

We are currently actively monitoring the humanitarian situation in Pakistan and working with the country's government, as well as our NGO partners, to support people affected by the flooding.

In Chitral District, we have launched a flood relief and recovery response along with our partner organisation AFK, which is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

In Sohbatpur District, we are working on the distribution of 2,056 emergency shelters, 2,056 non-food items (NFI), and 2,056 hygiene kits, alongside water tankering in the worst affected villages. The early recovery activities will focus on repairing 20 water irrigation channels, restoring 10 village pathways, rehabilitating 30 water storage ponds, installing 330 hand pumps, and repairing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in 30 government schools and health centres.

In Rajanpur District, our proposed relief efforts include the distribution of 500 shelter kits, 2,700 non-food item (NFI) kits, and 2,700 hygiene/dignity kits. Key early recovery priorities involve repairing 45 water irrigation channels, providing agricultural inputs to 880 small landholder farmers, restoring 15 village pathways, rehabilitating 33 culverts and 13 agricultural embankments, and focusing on livelihood restoration for women who have lost their income sources.

In Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge in around 3,500 emergency shelters.  Search and rescue support, food, essential medicines, safe drinking water, hygiene materials, and non-food items - along with cash - are among the key immediate needs.

Highways and train lines are damaged between the capital city Dhaka and the main port city of Chittagong, further hampering access to flooded affected areas. Communications have also been disrupted in hilly regions due to landslides and there has been no electricity in most of the affected areas for the last four days.

Concern is working with local partner, Sajida Foundation in Nohakhali to reach communities.

We are planning to ramp up our response in the coming days and weeks as the flood water gradually recedes.

We are aiming to provide people affected with food and nutrition support, repair damaged homes, reduce the risk of water and vector borne diseases and support people in restarting their livelihoods.