BANGLADESH: Bangladesh tries to distribute aid to millions of flood victims

Millions of flood-affected Bangladeshis await food supplies as relief aid slowly arrives. Hungry victims of South Asia's worst flooding in years eagerly await the distribution of food supplies. Residents in Malachi in Bangladesh, suffering under the high water levels, have not been able to leave their makeshift shelters set up along the banks of the floodwater. Some 20 million have been affected by the flooding and at least 164 people have died. As relief supplies finally began to reach some affected areas on Friday (August 10), other residents in more remote regions awaited the distribution of food. Families lined up along the banks of the flooded Isamati River in Malachi, hoping that boats filled with aid packages would soon arrive. "All of our villagers have been in water for the last few days. Now the floodwater has receded, but we are still living in makeshift shelters and we haven't been able to leave the makeshift shelters," complained Safia Khatoon, as she awaited the arrival of food for her family. Health authorities are struggling to cope with thousands of diarrhoea cases, and insufficient medicines, beds and staff in hospitals. Health officials say thousands of patients suffering from diarrhoea have been admitted to crammed hospitals over the past days, while local media reported more than 100,000 people were suffering from water-borne diseases. The latest bout of monsoon flooding in Bangladesh's neighbour India, which began about three weeks ago, is said to be the worst in living memory in parts of the impoverished state of Bihar, where around 10 million people have been affected alone. Weather officials have warned that more floods are expected in Dhaka -- a city of 11 million people.

ITN Source | August 9, 2007

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