Red Cross helps ease the plight of victims

DHAKA - The Red Cross Society of China has made a cash donation to help Bangladesh's communities affected by flooding that has stranded hundreds of thousands of people.

The Chinese embassy in Bangladesh's capital handed over a cheque of $100,000 last week on behalf of the Red Cross Society of China to the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.

BMW Mozharul Huq, secretary general of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, received the cheque from Chen Wei, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Dhaka.

Flooding sparked by heavy seasonal rains have affected parts of Bangladesh. Authorities have evacuated residents of scores of villages to higher ground in a number of districts that are prone to torrential rains between June and September.

Floods have caused widespread damage to habitation, crops, roads and highways across vast areas of the country.

The donated fund will be distributed among 2,000 flood-hit families in Bangladesh's norther Netrokona district and northeastern Kishorganj district.

This funding will be critical in supporting communities in the affected districts.

"This cash assistance will help meet the basic needs of the most vulnerable," said Huq, of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.

He also expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to both the Chinese government and the Red Cross Society of China for standing by the Bangladeshi flood victims. The Chinese embassy stated that is willing to provide assistance for relief work according to Bangladesh's needs.

Plight of millions of people in the South Asian country, criss-crossed by more than 230 rivers, mounts every year as Bangladesh experiences seasonal floods.

More than 500,000 people in a dozen districts in the country's north and northeast have now been marooned after their homes were flooded.

The residents left their houses wading through flooded roads or on boats in search for shelter or a dry ground to live temporarily.

Experts pointed out Bangladesh, bordering the Bay of Bengal, has become more vulnerable in recent time to climate change-related phenomena such as cyclones and flooding.

Three months of sustained floods in 1988 left several hundred people dead and caused millions of dollars of damage.

The country was again ravaged by major flooding in 1998 that left millions homeless and caused huge damage. In 2007, two rounds of floods in Bangladesh killed more than 1,000 people.

Xinhua