BRAC responds as catastrophic floods strike Bangladesh
BRAC teams are responding to support families impacted by catastrophic flooding in Bangladesh.
In Hathazari, Chattogram, in southern Bangladesh, emergency relief teams are shoulder to shoulder, preparing relief kits for 500 families trapped by floodwaters. The families are sheltering in nearby buildings, including schools.
Bangladesh has been hit by a catastrophic disaster.
BRAC has deployed 5,000 field staff in response to some of the worst flooding in the country’s history. Teams are encountering acute needs amid floods that stretch dangerously across 11 districts. At least 15 people have lost their lives, and almost 900,000 families are reported to be trapped by floodwaters.
People need help evacuating to safe places, and temporary shelter items, such as tents. Other needs include dry food and drinking water, medical support, menstrual hygiene kits, water purification tablets, and food for livestock.
“In the past 38 years, the people of this region have never faced such catastrophic flooding, nor witnessed floodwaters rising to these unprecedented levels,” says Khondoker Tawhid, Program Head of BRAC’s Disaster Risk Management Program. “Thousands of individuals in remote and inaccessible areas remain stranded, many of them forced to seek refuge on the rooftops of their homes. The urgent priority is to evacuate these individuals to safe shelters and provide them with essential food and water. However, our field teams are encountering significant obstacles in communicating with flood victims and delivering aid, as road networks are entirely submerged, electricity has been cut off, mobile networks are disrupted, and there is a shortage of boats.”
In Khagrachari, BRAC is taking boats house to house, delivering food, safe water and essential medicines.
“The weather forecast for Feni shows the situation is hopefully going to improve — but even if it does, the need for longer-term recovery and rehabilitation is going to be massive,” Asif Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC Bangladesh, wrote on LinkedIn. “Bangladesh will need to stand united.”
BRAC offices have been inundated with water. Twenty offices, and six informal education centers are damaged.
Tawhid’s teams are undeterred. He says, “Despite these critical challenges, we are committed to providing lifesaving support — distributing dry and cooked food, water, and other essentials to those we can reach. To date, we have provided assistance to over 9,000 families with food and water. Our efforts will continue, focusing on food distribution, shelter reconstruction, water and sanitation initiatives, and livelihood restoration as soon as conditions allow.”
BRAC has released approximately $250,000 of its emergency reserve funding to power the first phase of its response. So far, teams have distributed 8,500 packets of dry food, and are working on ways to support medium and long-term rehabilitation efforts for those affected.
Global appeal for donations
BRAC has launched a global appeal for donations to support families as they navigate the crisis. Make your secure online gift to support people in need today. Donors based in Bangladesh can make donations here.
- $20 can support a family’s most basic needs for two weeks.
- $635 will help a family rebuild their house.
- $340 will help repair a damaged tube well.
- $340 will aid the reconstruction of a latrine.
Written by Mica Bevington, Director of Communications at BRAC USA.