Grameen web site: www.inbangladesh.com/flood98. Pictures: http://www.drik.org/flood98.

Here is the account # to send donations for flood victims:

c.o BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Corporation)
A/C #01-6000-282-03
>Standard Chartered Bank
or
A/C #1677050
Grindlays Bank.
>
>I believe a routing-number is also needed for wiring money.
>I am trying to get that information.
>
>Please send any other relief-donation #s you have

From: Mohaiemen_Naeem <Naeem.Mohaiemen@hbo.com>

BANGLADESH : FLOOD '98

Bangladesh is facing its worst flood crisis of this century. The floods have
>been continuing for two months now with no sign of respite. Aside from the
>loss of human lives and livestock there has been extensive damage to
>housing, roads and infrastructure, and standing crops. The planting season
>for the next paddy crop is nearly over. This would imply severe food
>shortage in the coming months. Economic life is slowing down, adding to
>problems of unemployment and declining incomes. The flooding and
>contamination of drinking water has contributed to increases in diarrhoeal
>diseases and hepatitis. In this situation it is imperative that we work
>together and collectively confront this crisis.
>
>We at the Programme for Research on Poverty Alleviation, Grameen Trust, have
>started a web site with information on the current flood situation, the
>extent of damages, the needs of the people, and the activities of different
>organizations. We feel that this web site will provide information and
>insights for individuals, policy makers and activists in determining courses
>of action. We would therefore like to request you to provide us with
>information or links to other websites. We could also provide you with space
>for your organisational news that you could update.
>
>Please send us your information and queries. In the past collective efforts
>combined with the resilience of the people have seen us through many
>difficult periods. We are confident that this time too we shall overcome. We
>welcome your participation in this struggle.
>
>Syed M Hashemi
>
>
>OUR WEBSITE
>
> www.inbangladesh.com/flood98
>

>From: hannan
>Bangladesh flood at crisis point, UN issues "flash" aid appeal
>
>Sat 05 Sep 98 - 12:56 GMT
>
>DHAKA, Sept 5 (AFP) - Bangladesh approached crisis point in its battle
>against disastrous floods Saturday, prompting a "flash appeal" by the
>United Nations for 223 million dollars in aid to head off the threat of
>famine.
>
>Monsoon rains pounded much of the country and overflowing rivers were
>further swollen by runoff water from neighbouring India, officials said.
>
>More than two-thirds of the country is now under water, more than 600
>people have been killed in the worst floods on record and millions have
>been made homeless.
>
>The United Nations announced here a "flash appeal" for 223 million
>dollars for "emergency relief and initial rehabilitation" of the flood
>victims.
>
>It warned in a statement issued by the UN office in Dhaka that flood
>victims were reaching "the end of their coping ability ... without
>substantial assistance over the next four months, large numbers are at
>risk of starvation."
>
>Officials of the Flood Warning Centre (FWC) described the situation as
>"grave" in 24 districts, including the capital Dhaka.
>
>A full moon Saturday could worsen the already abnormal high tide in the
>Bay of Bengal which is preventing a runoff of floodwater from rivers,
>they said.
>
>"The situation depends on the continuation of inflow from upstream,
>quantum of rainfall both inside and outside the country and also the
>full moon's influence on the sea," one official said.
>
>Officials said more rain and water running off hills in neighbouring
>India swelled the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers which almost reached
>their highest-ever levels.
>
>A UN statement said a second appeal would be made when the waters
>receded to cover rehabilitation needs estimated by the Dhaka government
>at 400 million dollars.
>
>"The purpose of the international appeal by the United Nations is to
>solicit contributions for emergency relief and initial rehabilitation
>to the people affected by the flood disaster .... the background for the
>appeal is the seriousness of the flood situation."
>
>The appeal came after a team from the UN Office for the Coordination of
>Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) started a situation study at the start of
>this week.
>
>The statement said the government's damage report was "reliable" and the
>"food distribution system was as accurate and efficient as possible."
>
>The OCHA in Geneva has already received contributions in cash and kind
>worth 64 million dollars from the international community.
>
>Bangladesh has sought 879 million dollars in foreign aid for emergency
>relief and post-flood rehabilitation, including 240 million dollars'
>worth of food.
>
>Francesco Pittore, leader of a visiting Asian Development Bank team,
>said Saturday a technical team from the bank would visit Bangladesh this
>month to assess needs after the floods.
>
>"We are committed to assist Dhaka for rehabilitating infrastructure
>damaged by the floods," he told reporters at the end of a five-day
>visit, saying the floods caused massive damage.
>
>The ADB, he said would send a post-flood rehabilitation assessment
>mission.
>
>The eight-member team toured some affected areas and held talks with
>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, during which they said tremendous
>efforts were needed to overcome the cattastrophe.
>
>Sheikh Hasina, quoted by BSS news agency as saying, that "the most
>urgent need of the time is river dredging."
>
>More than a quarter of Bangladesh's 124 million people have been
>severely hit by floods that have swamped two-thirds of the country and
>killed 640 people, including 116 from diarrhoea.
>
>Disease and shortages of food and drinking water were reported across
>the devastated country.
>
>More than two million of the capital's nine million people are now
>living in flood shelters, described by the UN as "distressingly crammed
>and unhygienic," after losing their homes to the catastrophe. For many
>of them the temporary shelters have in turn been flooded.
>
>The FWC had earlier warned that the floods, which have already lasted a
>record two months, would continue until the end of September.
>

>Ganges crosses highest level as Bangladesh battles record floods
>
>Sun 06 Sep 98 - 06:59 GMT
>
>DHAKA, Sept 6 (AFP) - The Ganges river Sunday passed its highest
>recorded level and the Brahmaputra edged towards a new record as
>Bangladesh's disastrous floods looked set to worsen.
>
>"The Padma (Ganges) river has crossed the highest recorded level with
>the 1988 floods as base while the Brahmaputra is close to crossing the
>level," an expert with the Flood Forecasting Centre said.
>
>An abnormally long monsoon period was causing heavy downpours both
>inside Bangladesh and upstream in the rivers which flow through the
>country, the expert said. "We cannot say when the rains will stop."
>
>Officials had earlier warned that the floods, which have already lasted
>two months and caused massive damage, would continue until the end of
>September.
>
>Residents in the capital Dhaka and surrounding areas said water rose
>markedly during the past 24 hours.
>
>"This morning water is above the 1988 water level in my house," said one
>resident in the Mahakhali area, showing a line he drew after the last
>major floods which killed at least 2,200 people.
>
>A UN statement Saturday said the floods were worse than 1988 and still
>slowed little signs of abating. But it said fewer lives were lost this
>time thanks to more warning time and better preparedness.
>
>More than two-thirds of Bangladesh is now underwater, more than 600
>people have been killed and over a quarter of the 124 million people
>have been severely hit by the floods.
>
>For many of those who still have homes even simple journeys have become
>a daily ordeal of wading through filthy black water for a boat to reach
>dry land.
>
>Disease and shortages of food and drinking water are reported across the
>devastated country.
>
>President Shahabuddin Ahmed has called for national unity to battle the
>calamitious floods. During a tour of some of the flood-hit districts
>Saturday he urged comrades to "face the devastating floods, forgetting
>party affiliations" -- an apparent reference to bickering politicians.
>
>As Bangladesh approached a crisis point in its battle against floods,
>the United Nations issued a "flash appeal" Saturday for 223 million
>dollars for emergency relief and initial rehabilitation of victims.
>
>Commonwealth Secretary General Emeka Anyaoku appealed to member
>countries to aid Bangladesh in a "major disaster." Japan was sending a
>mission to assess needs.
>
>France, which is also studying longer-term aid, has given 85,000 dollars
>and is sending additional food.
>
>A second UN appeal will be made when the waters recede to cover
>rehabilitation costs estimated by the Dhaka government at 400 million
>dollars.
>
>Bangladesh has sought 879 million dollars in foreign aid for emergency
>relief and post-flood rehabilitation, including 240 million dollars'
>worth of food.
>
>So far 22 countries and the UN have committed assistance worth 84
>million dollars, the foreign ministry said.
>
>
>From: abdul hannan on Sun, Sep 6, 1998 10:06 AM
>
>dear friends,
>
>the floods we are experiencing in bangladesh are dreadful, as those of
>you here understand. but the aftermath might be worse. these are now the
>worst ever floods in bangladesh's disaster-prone history. 60 per cent of
>the country is under water and has been since the beginning of july. and
>the water is still rising. a un disaster management team is currently in
>the northwest of the country and, as you may already have read, various
>appeals are now under way, both nationally and internationally.
>
>the reasons for this year's phenomenal inundation are various. those
>friends whose expertise extend beyond mine will forgive me for my
>simplistic observations:
>
>1. abnormally high rainfall in the main monsoon axes of the gangetic
>plain in northern india and in north east india (it is now widely known
>and recognised that 90 percent of water in bangladesh originates in
>upper riparian areas);
>
>2. convergence of peak flows, in four sequential pulses, of the three
>main river systems in bangladesh (padma/ganges, jamuna/brahmaputra and
>meghna basins); just when you think it's subsiding it comes back, adding
>to the devastation;
>
>3. up to 20 (yes twenty!) seismic events in the bay of bengal during
>august, which resulted in an upward shift in the ocean floor and
>retention of cachement water in the north of the bay that would
>otherwise have run off into the indian ocean;
>
>4. extended monsoon rain throughout the latter half of august and into
>september, combined with the high tide/full moon.
>
>we are now staring at famine. we will have to wait and see what happens
>with the relief package announced by the un yesterday simoultaneously in
>new york, geneva and dhaka. but it must be noted that this relief
>initiatives is for just that: relief. a seperate initiative will be
>required for rehabilitation.
>
>20 million people are homeless. the daily star announced today that all
>prospects of planting the aman high-yield variety of rice are now gone.
>this is the main rice crop of the season. only those wealthy enough to
>have stocked grain from last year's crops have any viable source of
>income. other varieties can be sown, but the yields will be low. most
>rice-bearing land will require one month before it is fit for sowing.
>that means unemployment for sharecroppers and people working on jute
>fields. with no source of income, begging and social upheaval will
>increase. more migration to the cities, more destitution, more abuse.
>textile workers are already without employment, as work in inundated
>factories has been at a halt for some weeks now.
>
>with deep tubewells contaminated, there is a serious risk of widespread
>cholera, to add to the dysentery and diarrhoea already being reported in
>epidemic proportions. people who have any assets at all, such as cows,
>are selling them off at below cost price before the livestock itself
>perishes. moneylenders and mohajans are now demanding annual interest of
>upwards of 120 per cent for their loans.
>
>earlier i mentioned the seismic events. bangladesh is an esturine
>country grounded on alluvium which has accreted over the last 6,000
>years. it is also on the cusp of two huge tectonic plates - the eurasian
>and the indian. it is little known that the three of the ten most
>devasting earthquakes ever recorded occured in the bengal region (two of
>these were above 8 on the richter scale, with the assam earthquake in
>1950 registering 8.7). seismologists are now predicting that there will
>be a major seismic event in the offing...
>
>these are the "natural" reasons for this year's colossal floods. the
>human deficiencies have been well documented elsewhere, and they are too
>depressing to go into here. an event like this, that can make beggars of
>so many people, beggars the imagination also.
>
> - hannan
>
>______________________________________________________

>>From: abdul hannan on Mon, Sep 7, 1998 1:44 AM
>Disease and fear grip Bangladesh's flood victims
>
>Mon 07 Sep 98 - 01:24 GMT
>
>DHAKA, Sept 7 (AFP) - Bangladesh's worst floods have not only left
>hundreds dead but survivors have been plagued by diseases and fear for
>more than two months and the situation is worsening as rivers swell.
>
>"I have a torch and a stick to ensure safe journey back home at night
>because I use a rickshaw, then a boat and then walk through waist-deep
>dirty water," said Mohammad Faiz, a resident of one of the worst-hit
>areas.
>
>Many have fallen into the dirty water when small boats overturned or
>rickshaws tripped in submerged pot holes or drains.
>
>Diarrhoea, other water-borne diseases and sores have become rampant.
>
>More than two-thirds of Bangladesh is now under water. More than 700
>people have been killed, 116 of them from diarrhoea out of more than
>152,000 infected, and a quarter of the 124 million population has been
>severely hit by the floods.
>
>Diarrhoea kills by dehydration and is fatal unless treated quickly.
>
>Dhaka's International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases and Reserach,
>Bangladesh said more than three patients were reporting ill every
>minute.
>
>"At normal times a maximum of 100 or so patients reported to the centre,
>but now the number has gone up to almost 1,000 per day," one doctor
>said.
>
>A team from the Army Medical Corps has set up an emergency adjunct at
>the center to help cope up with the situation. Patients are given a
>solution of salt and sugar or a bottle of "rice saline."
>
>They have also set up water treatment plants.
>
>The United Nations said drinking water was in short supply, while
>residents fear that with pipes under water for weeks, water might have
>been contaminated.
>
>Other diseases reported are dysentry, intestinal worms, skin infection,
>eye and ear infection, malaria and fever.
>
>State Minister for Health M. Amanullah told the Daily Star newspaper the
>situation was "worse this year compared to the previous ones."
>
>Doctors said 116 mobile teams were deployed and the worst was yet to
>come when the water receded.
>
>Monir Hossain, a former rickshaw-puller, said his foot had skin sores he
>developed after "horrible itching" for days.
>
>In crammed flood shelters near Dhaka, new arrivals were reported Sunday
>as victims who had managed to stay on rooftops were forced from their
>homes by rising water. Health workers fear the situation would
>deteriorate.
>
>The United Nations had described the condition in the shelters as
>"distressingly crammed and unhygienic."
>
>A health official said bleaching powder was being distributed to
>disinfect shelters.
>
>"Hey, boat, Hey, boat," is the call heard during peak hours in the
>flooded areas of Dhaka.
>
>There are more "boat stops" than bus stops or taxi stands in this city
>of nine million people, with more than two-thirds of it swamped by flood
>water. Regular "boat jams" delay trips by up to 30 minutes.
>
>"It looks like Venice," one Western journalist said.
>
>Men and women venture out fearing drowning or other accidents in black,
>foul-smelling flood water mixed with sewer overflow. Snake bites are
>another risk.
>
>A dozen people have died by electrocution in the past days, with live
>wires submerged in waters.
>
>The floods in the Ganges river are worsening amid heavy downpours
>upstream. The deluge is set to last until the end of September.
>
>

>