‘I have lost everything’: Bangladesh floods strand 1.24 million families

As floodwaters recede after heavy monsoon rains, many have lost their homes – and some blame India for a dam release.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Ekramul Haque was stunned when his uncle called him late in the afternoon of August 21 to inform him that floodwaters had inundated their ancestral home in southeastern Bangladesh’s Feni district, close to the Indian border.

At the time, Haque was about 10km (6 miles) away in the town of Mirsarai in the Chattogram district, where he lives with his wife and children.

The next day, it took 40 minutes travelling by minibus in the downpour to reach his village.

“I rushed back to my home the next morning amidst torrential rain. By the time I arrived, knee-deep water had already entered and soaked everything,” the 29-year-old recounted. “I urged my extended family to come with me to Mirsarai.”

His parents and one uncle returned to Mirsarai with him.

But as the heavy rain continued and reports emerged of floodwaters submerging single-storey homes in his village in Chhagalnaiya Upazila (an upazila is a district subunit), Haque decided to undertake rescue missions starting on Friday morning to help other family members and residents of the village who were stranded.

“I contacted a few friends from university and formed a team to help. However, I was shocked to discover that the road from Mirsarai to Chagalnaiya was entirely submerged under chest-high water, making it completely impassable on Friday,” he said.

Haque and his friends initially tried to construct a makeshift raft from felled banana trees, but it failed to float due to the currents.

They eventually managed to hire a small boat at three times the usual cost. “The current was very strong, and it took the boatman three hours