‘Serious humanitarian crises’ in South Asia as floods affect over 16m

KATMANDU/GUWAHATI: More than 16 million people have been affected by floods in South Asia, aid workers and officials said, with heavy rains and damaged roads hampering relief efforts amid severe food shortages and a growing risk of waterborne diseases.

Heavy monsoon rains in Nepal, Bangladesh and India have killed more than 343 people, officials and aid workers said.

“This is fast becoming one of the most serious humanitarian crises this region has seen in many years,” said Martin Faller, deputy regional director for Asia Pacific at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

“Millions of people face severe food shortages and disease. We fear (it) will get worse in the days and weeks ahead.”

More than a third of Bangladesh and Nepal have been flooded, Faller said.

In Nepal, 27 of 75 districts were either submerged or hit by landslides, leaving villages and communities stranded without food, water and electricity.

Home Ministry official Shankar Acharya said 131 people had been killed and 30 were missing.

“We need donors’ assistance and support from social organizations,” an official statement said.

Aid workers are rushing to deliver tarpaulins for temporary shelter, food and water, said Dev Ratna Dhakhwa, secretary general of the Nepal Red Cross Society.

Residents face “severe food shortages,” as food crops have been wiped out in the worst floods in 15 years, he said.

The risk of a “significant public health crisis” from waterborne diseases such as cholera is also high, charity WaterAid said.

In Bangladesh, flood levels have reached record highs. At least 56 people have been killed and about 4 million are affected, the Red Crescent said Thursday.