August 01, 2007	Wednesday	Rajab 16, 1428

DHAKA, July 31: At least 16 people have died in the past week and more than a million were marooned or homeless as floods from monsoon rains and snowmelt inundated north and central Bangladesh, an official said on Tuesday.

Most of the affected people took shelter at hundreds of relief centres or sought higher ground as rivers burst their banks and flooded 20 of the country's 64 districts, disaster management secretary Dhiraj Malakar said.

“The flood water has begun to recede in some northern areas. But still two major rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, were flowing above danger levels and have inundated some new districts in the central region,” he said.

Malakar said thousands of military, government and volunteer groups were mobilised to evacuate people and distribute food, relief and medical aid to those affected by the disaster.

The deaths were caused by snakebites or drowning, he said, adding civil and military medical teams have been sent to the worst affected areas to combat the threat of water-borne diseases.—AFP