Irish charity appeals for funds to support families in Bangladesh forced to flee their homes due to floods

  ‘I couldn’t carry my son who has physical disabilities, so I left him behind hoping he’ll be safe’

ActionAid Ireland is appealing to the Irish public to support families in Bangladesh forced to flee their homes due to climate-change induced flooding.

Bangladesh has been on the receiving end of the climate crisis with the latest floods coming just three months after Cyclone Remal, the most devastating cyclone to strike the country in recent years.

The flooding has been reported in 11 districts, with at least 18 people killed and 5 million others stranded in low-lying areas following heavy monsoon rains.

Over 800,000 families are currently living in waterlogged areas, with nearly 200,000 people seeking refuge in flood shelters. Schools in some regions have been converted into flood shelters for the affected families. 

ActionAid Ireland CEO, Karol Balfe, said countries like Bangladesh are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and she paid tribute to her ActionAid colleagues in Bangladesh who are working around the clock to support those who are now homeless.

Ms Balfe said: “The climate crisis is caused by rich, developing countries. But It is countries like Bangladesh, which has negligible emissions, that are bearing the brunt.”

“People in Bangladesh are showing super resilience in the face of crisis, They need immediate funds to address the impacts of climate change and frequent disasters. They need to recover from the losses and damage they have faced,  as well as to build resilience to future impacts and take on green development pathways.” 

ActionAid Bangladesh, together with its local partners, are already supporting the affected communities in Sadar and Sonaimuri areas of Noakhali District, and will start responding in Feni District as soon as the water levels recede.  

Through a youth-led initiative, families in the flood shelters have received cooked food and other emergency supplies such as oral rehydration solution (ORS), emergency medicine, water purification tablets and dignity kits. ActionAid is also providing psychosocial first aid support for the displaced families, alongside distribution of dignity kits. 

Youth volunteers have divided into teams, and are gathering information from hard-to-reach areas to provide food relief to people who are in remote and waterlogged parts of Noakhali. They are facing challenges because large boats cannot reach these areas, so small boats are being used to carry food and other relief materials to support the flood-impacted people with food relief, as they are in a dire situation.”

Families who have lost everything in the ongoing Bangladesh flooding have shared their  painful stories of the day the floodwaters came gushing into their homes, forcing them to leave all they had. 

They are now living in flood shelters, surviving on the scarce drinking water and food available as roads have been cut off, hampering aid delivery efforts. 

Shukuri Begum, 56, a resident of Shonaimuri Upazilla in Noakhali, one of the worst-hit districts, recalls: “This flood took away my home – it sank into the pond. We were terrified and fled to a neighbour’s house with my grandchildren. But we couldn’t stay there long; it wasn’t safe anymore. We came here by boat to find shelter. I have a son with physical disabilities, and we couldn’t bring him with us. We had to stack beds and leave him on top, hoping he would be safe. I don’t know what’s waiting for us.”

Nazrul Islam, Bondattor village, Kabirhat, Noakhali District, says: “My family and I are in deep trouble. At first, the floodwater reached our waists, and as it rose to our chests, we had no choice but to leave our home and everything behind. Now, we’re in this shelter with my children, and I have no idea what’s happened to our house. I don’t even know if anything will be left when we can finally return. Everything is destroyed. Please, help us.”