Forty million people affected by flooding across Bangladesh, Nepal and India
UNHCR says that since the beginning of August severe monsoon rains have caused widespread flooding across South Asia, affecting 40 million people in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. More than 1,200 people are known to have died. The floods have damaged and destroyed homes, schools, health facilities and many people are currently living in relief camps and temporary shelters.
Army personnel help evacuate an elderly person and distribute food to people trapped in the flooded area of the Madhubani district of Bihar (Prabhat Kumar Verma/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News)
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Bangladesh – more than eight million people affected, 144 deaths
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India – 30 million people affected, 943 people have died
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Nepal – 1.7 million people affected, with 159 deaths
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People are in urgent need of food, clean water and sanitation, and shelter. There is also an urgent need for health services to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.
The floods have destroyed crops, killed livestock and washed away people’s means of making an income. This will have an impact on communities’ immediate food security, and may also exacerbate pre-existing vulnerabilities as people are left without possessions or the means to make a living. With monsoon rains predicted to continue across the region until October, there is the possibility that the situation will deteriorate further and humanitarian needs will continue to increase.
UN agencies and humanitarian organisations are on the ground working to support the Government-led response to the floods.