Red Cross make Bangladesh appeal

The international Red Cross today appealed for £850,000 (€1.34m) to help 150,000 people forced from their homes in Bangladesh by monsoon floods.

"There is an urgent need for food, especially among the very poor families in affected areas who have lost homes or have been displaced over many weeks," said Tony Maryon of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"In addition, the widespread damage to crops has caused food prices to rise, making the situation even more difficult for disadvantaged groups."

More than 3.5 million people have been affected by the exceptionally heavy monsoon rains that have caused flash flooding in half the districts of Bangladesh, the federation said.

Many people are living in temporary shelters on embankments or nearby high ground. More than half Bangladesh’s 130 million people already were living below the poverty line before the flooding.