Two-thirds of Bangladesh engulfed and floodwaters are still rising

Above: The streets of Dhaka remain busy despite the floods.

Syed Ahmeduzzaman in Demra

With millions of people marooned and clinging to their swamped homes, the worst flooding in Bangladesh for 10 years is reviving dreadful memories of the past.

The floods have engulfed two-thirds of this delta country for more than six weeks, and disrupted the lives and work of 25 million people.

"It already looks like the 1988 floods," said Hashem Ali Matbar, aged 57, who lives in Demra, nine miles from the capital, Dhaka. He pointed to a wide waterfront dotted with houses submerged up to their roofs.

The 1988 floods, the worst in recent memory, killed more than 5,000 people. In 1988, he said, speaking from a boat, "most of our homes had collapsed when the floodwater receded".

He feared the devastation could be worse this time, because the water had remained much longer than in 1988. "I can see a repeat of 1988 and I fear the impact could be more colossal."

The government is asking for "any form of assistance" from any government or agency. It estimates the damage so far at £140 million. Nearly 500,000 tonnes of rice has been ruined in the fields.

Narananganj, a river port 12 seven miles from Demar, was submerged yesterday, witnesses said. "There is no place dry in this town," said a local businessmane, Sohrab Hossain. "The water is still rising."