Monsoon floods kills 13, affects nearly 3 million people in Bangladesh

Monsoon rainfall-triggered floods in deltaic Bangladesh and upstream Indian regions killed at least 13 people and marooned or affected nearly three million others in this country, posing a huge administrative challenge to the newly installed interim government amid a political transition.

Bangladesh is crisscrossed by more than 200 rivers, 54 of them being transboundary rivers with upper riparian India, in four major basins. A depression (a system that brings in copious rainfall) in the Bay of Bengal has led to the current deluge with rivers in two basins the north-eastern Meghna Basin and south-western Chattrogram Hills Basin flowing above the danger mark.

Apart from the torrential rains, the overflowing rivers, El Nino and climate change phenomenon were the factors responsible for widespread flooding in the country, weather experts said on Friday.

A Disaster Management Ministry spokesperson said: We are monitoring the flood situation and relief activities from our control room i