Hossen, facing uncertainty after the flood
Treading through waterlogged roads towards an empty home
9 September 2024Having lost most of his possessions in the flood, Hossen heads home towards an uncertain future as water levels start to fall.
Hossen found himself struggling to tread through the body of water that had once been a familiar path to him. He was in the Sonagazi Upazila of the southeastern district of Feni. Now, everything was unrecognisable. His locality, all the crops, all the land was now underwater. Moreover, as he headed home, Hossen found himself looking towards a future full of uncertainty after the flood.
“Everything was as a normal day,” he recalled when it all started. “Suddenly, people started saying that there’s water getting into their houses. So, I did not get any time to prepare to save anything. Only the structure of my house remains, everything else washed away,” Hossen recollected.
Unprecedented eastern floods in Bangladesh
From 22 August 2024, the unprecedented floods in eastern Bangladesh – the worst in 30 years – caught local residents by surprise. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall, combined with the release of water from upstream sources, initiated devastating floods in 11 districts throughout the east. As of 31 August, 59 deaths were recorded and 5.82 million were reportedly affected.
Heading into murky waters
“Now, all my crops are ruined. I even lost a cow in this chaos. And I don’t know what we did to deserve this disastrous flood,” said Hossein. He continued carrying his belongings through the waterlogged land.
“Only the structure of my house remains, everything else washed away.”
Hossen
Finally heading home, Hossen, like many others, faced a future full of uncertainty after the flood calmed down. He was among many in his community who had lost their livelihoods and the precious results of all their hard work, in the flash floods of eastern Bangladesh. The flood-affected populations look forward to robust support in rebuilding their communities and igniting resilience within them.
Click to view Plan International Bangladesh’s press release on the ongoing Flood in Bangladesh.
Details of our flood response can be found here.
Emergency flood response
Plan International Bangladesh along with youth volunteers, and partners from SAJIDA Foundation and Zabarang Kalyan Samity, delivered dry food and multi-purpose packages in emergency response efforts to Hossen’s locality and many others. The packages contained protection and menstrual hygiene management kits. In the districts of Feni, Noakhali and Khagrachari 8,314 people were reached. Furthermore, partners in the regions rescued more than 200 people. To aid these rescue efforts and emergency provisions, Plan International Bangladesh had disbursed funds and drafted an emergency response plan within the first 48 hours of the disaster.
Categories: Emergencies
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