The death toll from devastating floods that have ravaged South-eastern Bangladesh for weeks reached 52 on Thursday.

According to a Disaster Management and Relief Ministry report, millions of people remained cut off in parts of the country.

Twenty-one more flood-related deaths were reported in Bangladesh on Thursday, raising the toll from the current flooding to 52.

The National Disaster Response Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief reported that out of the dead, 14 died in Cumilla, 17 in Feni and six in Chattogram.

The report said three in Cox’s Bazar, eight in Noakhali, and one each in Brahmanbaria, Lakshmipur, Khagrachhari and Moulvibazar.

Over five million people have been affected by the floodwaters, which hit 11 of the country’s 64 districts and caused colossal damage to life, property, and standing crops.

The report said more than half a million flood-affected people, including women and children, took shelter in 3,403 centres.

The ongoing devastating floods, triggered by seasonal rains and a sudden onrush of water from hills across the Indian borders, have left over one million people marooned in about a dozen south-eastern and north-eastern districts.

Bangladeshi interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus urged all concerned to rescue stranded people, provide emergency healthcare, and extend cooperation for the victims.

The authorities have sent teams of disaster response forces to carry out rescue operations, distribute relief materials and supervise centres where the flood-affected people have taken shelter.

(Xinhua/NAN)