Death toll in Bangladesh floods rises to 185, more than 19 million affected

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2004

DHAKA (AFP) — The death toll in flooding that has submerged half of Bangladesh and affected more than 19 million people rose to 185 as floodwater spread to parts of the capital Dhaka, the official news agency BSS said.

The death toll was earlier put at 57 but BSS said officials had confirmed 185 deaths and that unofficial reports indicated the true number could be "much higher".

It said the number of people affected had risen from 11 million to more than 19 million out of a total population of 140 million.

The flooding, the most serious since Bangladesh's worst ever floods of 1998, has now also inundated parts of north, northeast and southeast Dhaka, forcing some residents to wade through waist high water.

"My house has three feet (90 centimetres) of...