Flood waters still rising in Bangladesh

Relief efforts are said to be inadequate for some flood victims

Flood waters are expected to carry on rising in western Bangladesh for several days despite reports that they are receding in some areas.

Local authorities in the region, which is not usually affected by severe flooding, seem largely unprepared for the crisis, the worst for 50 years.

And a lack of boats and water channels is hampering the rescue effort even more.

Rescuers were still trying to recover people trapped in trees and on roofs.

An International Red Cross spokesman said that people fleeing the floods had left behind even basic equipment such as cooking pots.

Outbreaks of diarrhoea and other health problems were on the increase, the spokesman added.

Looting on increase

A BBC correspondent who visited one of the affected areas in Jessore district saw people forced to sit on their own rooftops to guard against looters.

Incidences of theft have risen dramatically since the floods came.

There have been widespread allegations of inadequate relief provision in affected areas.

Local school teacher Abdul Ghafur told the BBC that at least 50,000 people were awaiting relief in a remote shelter 16 km from the nearest subdistrict headquarters.

Lack of co-ordination in the relief operation meant that most aid was going to people living in towns or main roads while those in remote areas were left empty-handed.

Around three million people in Bangladesh have been affected by the floods, the worst in the area for over 50 years, and another 16 million in West Bengal.