Seasonal flooding sparked by heavy rains across Bangladesh killed 120 people in the past week, officials said Sunday, according to DPA. Most deaths occurred from drowning, snake bites and dehydration caused by diarrhoea among the flood-hit families housed in make-shift shelters on the soaking countryside. The military backed interim government calls for national unity to face the natural disaster. In a televised address to the nation, the head of the interim government Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed urged people to remain calm and help authorities conduct rescue operations and distribute food and shelter materials. Ahmed did not directly call for international help to manage the deluge, but indicated that aid from foreign countries would be welcomed. A spokesperson for the Dhaka-based international Cholera Hospital said the lone specialized hospital for waterborne diseases in the country faced an unusual rush of patients including many children from inundated villages. The hospital had erected tents in the garden to accommodate around 400 patients who arrived for emergency medical aid. Media reports said surging waters from swollen rivers submerged more towns and villages in central Bangladesh Sunday and emergency aid has yet to reach isolated settlements cut off by the swirling waters. Aid workers, however, said tens of thousands of unfed people were fighting a grim battle for survival in the country's northern and eastern districts the the worst hit in the current spell of flooding. Earlier reports said millions of people were living under open skies since torrential rains washed away homes and rice seedlings across Bangladesh. An estimated 10 million people in 38 districts were hit by the floods causing huge damage to housing, infrastructure and crops, official figures said. The Disaster Management Office said over half a million people were made homeless in the deluge in the northern farming hinterlands. Rising rivers have sparked severe flooding disrupting road links, closing schools and snapping ferry and train links, the national flood forecasting and warning centre said. Weather officials said the floods had worsened as the country's three main rivers, Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna, continued to rise.
