Bangladesh destroyed by biblical flood. 1/3rd of country under water

[jimmy olsen]

Horrific!

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/01/asia/bangladesh-south-asia-floods/index.html

A third of Bangladesh under water as flood devastation widens
By Steve George, CNN
Updated 0540 GMT (1340 HKT) September 1, 2017

(CNN)In rural areas across northern Bangladesh families are preparing to mark Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest dates on the Muslim calendar.

The holiday, which translates literally as the "sacrifice feast," is intended to be a time of great celebration. In small villages, such as Beraberi some 134 kilometers northwest of Dhaka, villagers spent much of the last year hand-rearing goats and cows in anticipation of the annual festivities.
Then the rains began to fall.

As the world's media trains its sights on the tragic events in Texas and Louisiana, another water-driven catastrophe is unfolding in villages like Beraberi throughout Bangladesh and parts of Nepal and India.

There, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) estimates that at least 1,200 have died and more than 41 million people have been affected by monsoon rains and severe flooding as of June this year. The rains are now moving northwest towards Pakistan, where more devastation is expected.

At its peak on August 11, almost a week's worth of average monsoon rainfall was dumped across parts of Bangladesh in the space of one day, according to the country's Meteorological Department, forcing villagers throughout northern areas to grab what few possessions they could carry and flee their homes in search of higher ground.
And still the rains keep coming. In Bangladesh alone, floods have so far claimed the lives of 142 people, and impacted over 8.5 million.

In Beraberi, one of numerous island villages know as "chars" dotted along the Jamuna River, entire homes have been washed away, and crops and food supplies -- including livestock -- all but wiped out. When aid workers carrying relief parcels from the IFRC arrived by helicopter earlier this week, villagers described the rains as the "worst in living memory."

"People were fearful they would soon begin to starve," says Corinne Ambler, who was among the IFRC team who visited the village. "They are used to seasonal flooding but nothing to this degree, this is a different level -- for miles around all you can see is water, the flooding has transformed the countryside."

Mother of two, Adere Begum, 34, was at home in the village with her daughters when the flooding began. "The water was up to our knees inside. There were snakes in the water and my children were very scared," said Begum, who lost much of her livestock, including ducks, chickens and cows in the floods.

The IFRC has described the flooding in Bangladesh as the most serious in 40 years. The organization estimates that 700,000 homes have been partially or totally destroyed and up to a third of its terrain -- much of it farmland -- left submerged, raising fears of a coming food shortage, as the country grapples to deal with a shortfall in staple produce.

"This is the season of rice cultivation," Reaz Ahmed, Director General, Bangladesh's Department of Disaster Management told CNN. Almost half of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single most important product.

According to government estimates, to date a total of 6,1877 hectares of cropland, mostly rice, have been "completely damaged," while 531 million hectares have been "partially damaged."

Recent figures from the the Asian Development Bank, show that 31.5% of Bangladeshis live below the national poverty line. For many of those in the north of the country, where fragile sustenance farming remains the norm, even the slightest drop in crop production can prove devastating.

In areas where the flood waters are receding the government is advising that farmers return in the hope that some crops can yet be salvaged. "Farmers still have around 20 days to re-cultivate rice plants. The government is providing them seed, saplings and fertilizers," said Ahmed.

But such efforts are complicated by poor infrastructure. In areas north and northwest of the capital Dhaka, where flooding is most acute, a significant number of villages remain entirely cut off, with many major roads and highways inaccessible.

Bangladesh is no stranger to flood related disasters. Much of the country is built on low-lying and flood-prone areas, making it particularly vulnerable to seasonal monsoon rains. In 2007 more than half of Bangladesh was seriously affected by deadly monsoon flooding, leading to over 1,000 deaths, the majority of them children.

A report by the World Bank group lists Bangladesh, a densely populated country of 165 million, as among the world's "potential impact hotspots" threatened by "extreme river floods" due to global rise in temperatures.

As of August 31, more than than 51,000 people have been relocated to emergency flood shelters set up by the government, according to Ahmed, though that number is expected to rise as food shortages begin to bite and families seek additional assistance.

The sheer number of displaced people would be a monumental challenge for any government, but in Bangladesh, where as many as 27,000 Rohingya refugees have this week arrived across the border from Myanmar -- joining an estimated 85,000 currently housed in camps -- the situation becomes additionally perilous.

With the country essentially left combating two separate humanitarian crises, aid agencies are appealing for international assistance.

"Providing clean water and sanitation are our major priorities right now. The floodwaters will soon become a breeding ground for deadly diseases such as diarrhea, malaria, dengue and Japanese encephalitis," said Antony Balmain, IFRC's Communications Manager in Asia Pacific. "As we've seen in flood hit parts of Sri Lanka, there is a very real possibility this could yet get much worse."

[The Brain]

I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created--and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground--for I regret that I have made them.

[Syt]

Tim, you're operating under the silly assumption that there's more than a few people here who would care about the lives of a few million anonymous brown skinned people half way across the globe nearly as much as they do about the familiar faces of fictional characters on the TV screens in their living rooms.

[Eddie Teach]

All you need is one halfway decent photojournalist to fix that problem.

[Agelastus]

Horrific!

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/01/asia/bangladesh-south-asia-floods/index.html

The IFRC has described the flooding in Bangladesh as the most serious in 40 years. The organization estimates that 700,000 homes have been partially or totally destroyed and up to a third of its terrain -- much of it farmland -- left submerged, raising fears of a coming food shortage, as the country grapples to deal with a shortfall in staple produce.

I think this page (with the normal proviso for accuracy given it's Wikipedia, of course) gives a reason why sympathy for the Bangladeshis, while present, does not equal the heights you might expect. Familiarity tends to have a deadening effect even with the best will in the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floods_in_Bangladesh#Historic_floods

Bangladeshi flooding is a problem without a solution even in a world without global warming.

Or rather, one solution - resettle the people living in the flood plains to higher ground;unfortunately, the nearest higher ground happens to be in India.

[Valmy]

Tim, you're operating under the silly assumption that there's more than a few people here who would care about the lives of a few million anonymous brown skinned people half way across the globe nearly as much as they do about the familiar faces of fictional characters on the TV screens in their living rooms.

Is this what you do when people tune into your video game streams?

'You are going to watch a guy whose skin has low melanin content play video games when people whose skin has high melanin content are suffering someplace? YOU RACIST ASSHOLE!!!!11'

Anyway you can kiss my Texas ass. I am so sorry I care about my own home and community. I must be a piece of human garbage.

[Syt]

Tim, you're operating under the silly assumption that there's more than a few people here who would care about the lives of a few million anonymous brown skinned people half way across the globe nearly as much as they do about the familiar faces of fictional characters on the TV screens in their living rooms.

Is this what you do when people tune into your video game streams?

'You are going to watch a guy whose skin has low melanin content play video games when people whose skin has high melanin content are suffering someplace? YOU RACIST ASSHOLE!!!!11'

Anyway you can kiss my Texas ass. I am so sorry I care about my own home and community. I must be a piece of human garbage.

Where do you get the impression that I don't care about what happens in Texas, or that people in Texas and nearby areas should not be preoccupied with it?

You know what? If people are so touchy these days and consider ANY post an attack on their integrity, beliefs, or being, then I'm out of here.

[Eddie Teach]

Don't do that, Valmy is famously touchy and oversensitive.

[Camerus]

Meh, Syt's post was incredibly holier than thou.

[Valmy]

Don't do that, Valmy is famously touchy and oversensitive.

I am well aware you don't approve of me Eddie you let me know constantly

[Valmy]

Where do you get the impression that I don't care about what happens in Texas, or that people in Texas and nearby areas should not be preoccupied with it?

Because the whole 'while the world focusses on Texas the EVEN BIGGER DISASTER IS HAPPENING IN INDIA/NEPAL/BANGLADESH' thing keeps getting tossed around. The implication being clear: the world cares about us more because we are westerners with less melanin. I find the whole thing tiresome. Your little 'hey look at Languish! Not caring about the Bangladeshis because of their skin!!11' was ridiculous. I know we have all discussed the situation in Mumbai on Languish before.

You know what? If people are so touchy these days and consider ANY post an attack on their integrity, beliefs, or being, then I'm out of here.

Um dude your post WAS an attack.

Tim, you're operating under the silly assumption that there's more than a few people here who would care about the lives of a few million anonymous brown skinned people half way across the globe nearly as much as they do about the familiar faces of fictional characters on the TV screens in their living rooms.

I mean come on. We don't care about the lives of Bangladeshis because people here talk about Game of Thrones? FFS.

[Eddie Teach]

Meh, Syt's post was incredibly holier than thou.

Yes but not directed at anyone in particular. People trash "the forum" all the time. You can't let that get to you.

Pfft, Valmy I think you're great. 

[Valmy]

Pfft, Valmy I think you're great. 

Hey it is a friendly rivalry...or whatever it is.

[Valmy]

Anyway I like you Syt. Don't take off just because you pissed me off once.

[Camerus]

Meh, Syt's post was incredibly holier than thou.

Yes but not directed at anyone in particular. People trash "the forum" all the time. You can't let that get to you.

Yeah, the particular form the snappy reply took was perhaps not expected, but if you make pious hypocritical bleatings, don't be surprised to be called on it sometimes. Especially on Languish, where we have nothing better to do.