South Asia floods 2004
Floods occur every year in parts of Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Heavy monsoon rains in 2004 caused the worst flooding for six years.
The situation
- Over 50 million people directly affected
- Homes, crops, animals and land destroyed
- Infrastructure badly damaged
Floods occur every year in parts of Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Heavy monsoon rains in 2004 caused the worst flooding for six years.
The water started coming into the house at 10 o'clock at night. It was rising quickly and we all had to get onto the bed. We were frightened for the children. Fortunately, my brother came with his boat. We had to leave everything behind.
Zofura Begum, Bangladesh, Sep 04
Emergency response
Oxfam responded by:
- Distributing food and other essential items such as buckets, plastic sheeting and cooking utensils
- Constructing tube-wells and latrines
- Distributing seed and animal fodder
- Supporting people to rebuild their lives
Preparing for disaster
The Ganges-Brahmaputra River Basin is over 1,000 kilometres wide and crosses the borders of north-east India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Oxfam’s River Basin Programme helps communities prepare for floods, and so reduce their vulnerability to disaster.
In 2004 this work helped save lives.
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