lying villages in the southern coastal district of Bhola, marooning at least 15,000 people, officials said. Bhola is 105 kilometers (65 miles) south of Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital. The Bangladeshi government's health directorate reported that more than 9,000 people were ill with waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, pneumonia and respiratory problems. The illnesses have claimed more than 60 lives in Bangladesh since June, it said. The flooding in Bangladesh has left some 20 million people _ or one-seventh of the population _ in need of food for the next five months and the government estimates US$7 billion in damages to agriculture, industry, housing and infrastructure. In Nepal, Red Cross officials said they have appealed for US$2.17 million in emergency aid from international donors. Some 127,000 families have been affected in the Himalayan kingdom.
