UN continues relief efforts in flood-plagued South Asia

With floodwaters still plaguing South Asia, United Nations agencies continue to help Bangladesh and India with efforts to bring relief to well over 30 million people affected by the disasters.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported UN agencies in Bangladesh have officially activated their disaster management team (DMT) to coordinate the humanitarian community's responses to the region's recent devastating floods.

UN agencies on the ground are assessing the situation, while the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has been distributing food to over 36,000 people.

Heavy monsoon rains led to destructive floods in Bangladesh last week, and water levels are expected to rise because of a number of factors, including excess water from neighbouring India. More than 7,000 primary schools have been closed and 500 others are being used as shelters, OCHA said.

The Government of Bangladesh has responded by authorizing the distribution of emergency supplies, including by airdrop in otherwise inaccessible areas. Over 11 million people have already received emergency assistance.

Meanwhile in eastern India, the same floods have affected more than 28 million people and claimed 215 lives. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been supplying materials to purify the area's drinking water, as well as providing oral rehydration salts.