Dhaka Tribune

The overall damage so far exceeds Tk11 crore

A few weeks ago, as exponentially increasing monsoon rains were leading to a rise in water levels in some of our major rivers, we editorialized on the importance of remaining prepared when these rivers would eventually overflow, leading to massive floods which, in turn, would cause much hardships to the people in coastal areas.

Over the last few days, as predicted, that is exactly what has happened with floods in Khulna and Bagerhat, leaving more than 50,000 families marooned across several upazilas -- and that is not all.

Flood waters have swept away shrimp and crab from more than 5,000 enclosures, in addition to other fish farms, leading to massive losses for the farmers who had invested their money and time into these enclosures.

The overall damage so far exceeds Tk11 crore -- and we must keep in mind that, the ones who face this loss are the people who resided around the areas affected, with many undoubtedly losing everything they had in the floods.

To make matters worse, in Chittagong, heavy rains led to landslides in different areas, and with more rain incoming, there is no doubt more devastation is on the cards if we do not prepare ourselves in a manner that protects these lands and the people who live on them.

The priority now must be to provide relief to the affected families as soon as possible, including food, aid, and shelter, and putting all of our resources towards managing the crisis so that it is not worsened by the predicted rains in the upcoming days.

In addition, with this happening every single year, we must ask of ourselves: Why do our coastal communities continue to experience such loss of livelihood and residence? What steps must we take to ensure that such tragic events no longer repeat themselves in the future?