### Devastating Floods Displace Millions in Bangladesh

Nurul Haque meticulously navigates through a murky pool of water, each step taken with caution to avoid the flood-borne debris. Clutching his lungi tightly to keep it from soaking, his effort proves futile by the time he reaches safety. Haque's modest two-room home was engulfed by three feet of water last month due to flash floods that ravaged extensive parts of northeastern, eastern, and southern Bangladesh. Although the water has mostly receded, pockets of it remain in some of the worst affected regions.

"When the floods happened, I was so tense," Haque confessed. "I couldn't sleep. I had no idea where I would go, so I took my wife and children and we went to the shelter."

Haque is one of the estimated 6 million individuals forced to leave their homes during Bangladesh's most severe flooding in over three decades. The deluge affected 11 out of the nation's 64 districts, with Haque's home district of Noakhali among the hardest hit. Located a five-hour drive south of Dhaka, Noakhali is where Haque has spent his entire life and never witnessed such devastation.

Temporary shelters, including schools, mosques, and other public buildings, sprang up across the affected regions. Aid organizations and local volunteers provided essential supplies like food, water, and hygiene kits. Yet for many, the return home was unavoidable after just a few weeks. Haque, who had hoped to fund his daughter's wedding through fishing, found his plans shattered. "The fish have all gone," he lamented. "The seedlings have also been washed away. Now I have nothing."

Exposing a deep scar from recent intestinal surgery, Haque mentioned that his stomach aches when he wades through the water. Others with health problems have similarly suffered, and the floods have left small-scale farmers and fishermen, the primary occupation in the area, without livelihoods. Their fish, crops, and seedlings were swept away, leaving them economically devastated.

Ashish Damle, the Bangladesh country director for Oxfam, highlighted the unique nature of these floods. "The unique feature of these floods is that people did not get time to prepare themselves. They could just save their lives. The lasting impact is on their livelihoods."

Damle stressed that while monsoon rains triggered the floods, the rapid industrialization of Bangladesh exacerbated the situation. "Within the last two decades, the urbanization in Bangladesh has grown more than 60%, which means the areas which were typically known as rural areas or typical villages are now being subjected to more industrial exposure. Urbanization means more population growth in those areas, more construction, and obviously it has an impact on the entire aquatic ecosystem."

For many residents, the floods have inflicted physical as well as emotional scars. One individual mentioned joint pain inflamed by wading through the water for days. The recent devastation poses a significant challenge to Bangladesh's interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who assumed power only last month and has prioritized addressing the needs of the people.

However, there is widespread fear about future floods, and Damle warned of the necessity for a sustained response to the ongoing climate emergency. "We need to have a consistent long-term sustained response. I think that level of awareness is lacking at all levels, particularly among policymakers."

As the threat of rising waters looms, individuals like Haque remain on the front lines, likely to lose what little they have managed to salvage from the disaster.