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15 more die in Dhaka flooding

Life in the Bangladeshi capital came to a halt yesterday amid knee-to-chest-high flooding caused by the heaviest rainfall in half a century, officials said.

At least 15 people have died since Saturday in three days of almost continuous monsoon down-pours across Bangladesh.

Houses were inundated, vehicles stranded and all schools and offices were closed.

Arjumand Habib, deputy director of the Meteorological Department, said 34cm of rain fell on Monday in Dhaka, the highest level recorded in 50 years.

The country is still recovering from floods in July and last month that left more than 700 dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Floodwaters in the capital were expected to take at least 24 hours to recede, Mayor Sadek Hossain Khoka said.

"City dwellers can't operate normally -- they are in great misery," he said.

Some cycle rickshaws and buses were operating but almost all cars were off the roads and many vehicles were stranded.

Seven people died on Monday in weather-related accidents.

Three women and a baby died when a boat capsized in the central district of Shariatpur, while three more people were electrocuted by downed electric cables in separate incidents in Dhaka. At least eight people died during the weekend.

Aid agencies estimate it will take Bangladesh, where nearly half the population lives on under a dollar a day, at least a year to recover from the flooding.
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