The deadly flash flood that hit Bangladesh鈥檚 11 districts in the third week of August inflicted damage and loss worth over Tk 14,269 crore, revealed an estimate released by the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry.
Starting on August 20, the ministry said, the flood killed 74 people and injured 68 others.
A total of 28,386 houses were completely destroyed in the flood, implying that the number of people rendered temporarily homeless by the natural disaster would be around 1.50 lakh.
The number of partially destroyed houses in the flood stood at 319,219, the ministry estimated.
The flash flood, triggered by extreme rain and partially worsened by India releasing water from one of its hydroelectric projects in Tripura, washed away 423聽聽 culverts and partially damaged 1,097 others.
With regard to highways and roads, the flood completely ruined 3,684km and partially damaged 13,782km, apparently leaving road communication in a mess.
The affected roads include nearly 10,000 km of country roads, exposing the extent of the damage Bangladesh鈥檚 most vulnerable people suffered. The people in the rural areas are in a prolonged suffering for it takes years, if not decades, to get help to rebuild.
Twenty one educational institutions were completely destroyed in the flooding while 3,033 other educational institutions were partially damaged.
The flood swept away 90 religious buildings, including 84 mosques, and partially damaged 3,263 others.
The flood protection embankments over 61 km were completely destroyed while 286 km were partially, leaving hundreds of thousands of people exposed to the high tide every day along the coastal region.
The breaches in the embankments led to a great waterlogging problem which is lingering in parts of Lakshmipur, Noakhali and Cumilla, affecting the lives and livelihoods of a huge number of people.
The waterlogging problem worsened when it rains with the monsoon still bringing spells of extreme rains, potentially bearing consequences that the government estimate failed to factor in.
The flood completely damaged forests and nurseries of 48,520 hectares and partially 18,074 hectares.
A total of 45,719 deep, shallow and hand-pushed tube wells were destroyed completely in the flood. The number of partially destroyed tube wells is 1,37,140.
The flood damaged fish farms and hatcheries on 35,092 hectares of land.
The flash flood stayed for about two weeks causing some rivers to reach heights that were achieved never before.
The damage in Cumilla district was extensive as the area suffered from the flood for a rather long time. The district in the Gumati basin saw a sudden surge in water discharge amidst extreme rain after India had released water from its hydroelectric project in Dumbroo.
Within two weeks of the flood, a spell of extreme rainfall hit the coastal area again, bringing so much rain that Cox鈥檚 Bazar witnessed over 700mm of rain in just three days.
A total of Tk 79.52 crore was received in the fund opened for helping the flood-affected people.
Until the flood officially ended with rivers falling below their danger marks, the government distributed relief in food and cash worth Tk 5 crore.