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Office of the UN Resident Coordinator – Situation Update No. 03 (5 August 2019) - Bangladesh | 2019 Monsoon Floods

Countries
Bangladesh
Sources
UN RC Bangladesh
Publication date

1. Overview

According to the Bangladesh Metrological Department (BMD), the monsoon is very active over India and over the North Bay of Bengal.
Light to moderate rain/thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty winds are likely to occur over Chattogram, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Sylhet divisions. According to the BMD’s long term forecast rainfall in August will be above average. Considering July heavy rains, the current level of flooding and waterlogging as well as upstream water flows, the risks are high of increased distress amongst the already affected communities. The August 5th report of the Flood Forecast Warning Center (FFWC) informs that the Brahmaputra-Jamuna rivers are in steady state and the Ganges-Padma river is in falling trend, while the Surma-Kushiyara rivers are in rising trend.

2. Highlights

The Needs Assessment Working Group (NAWG) released the final report of the Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) based on the information from the National Disaster Response Coordination Centre (NDRCC) of Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR), triangulated with information from the communities and technical ministries. The report indicates that 7.6 million persons in 28 districts are affected by the monsoon floods. More than half a million houses were damaged or destroyed and 300,000 persons were displaced. Nine districts are severely impacted: Bogra, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Kurigram, Sirajganj, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Tangail and, Bandarban.
The latter faced landslides and flashfloods.

Official data concerning the impact of July heavy rains remained unchanged since last week’s RCO situation update. However, national authorities continue to monitor the situation actively given that two more months of monsoon are expected.

3. Current response

The MoDMR allocated rice and cash to all 64 districts of the country through its regular response mechanism. MoDMR made additional allocations to the 28 affected districts. As of August 4, 2019, MoDMR allocated 28,350 MT GR rice, 216.85 million cash (only cash, children food and fodder) and 118,000 packets of dry food. To address the distress of the displaced people MoDMR set up 8,500 tents to provide temporary shelter.