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STORY: UNFPA / SOUTHEAST BANGLADESH FLOODS
TRT: 04:28
SOURCE: UNFPA
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNFPA ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / BENGALI / NATS
DATELINE: PLEASE SEE THE SHOTLIST FOR DETAILS
31 AUGUST 2024, BANGLADESH, NOAKHALI DISTRICT, CHITTAGONG DIVISION
1. Wide shot, UNFPA-supported Union Health and Family Welfare Center(UHFWC)-Begumganj, Noakhali submerged underwater
2. Wide shot, a school-turned shelter
3. Wide shot, a school-turned shelter
4. Wide shot, people walk in water
5. Wide shot, a woman walks in water with a child
6. Med shot, a man pushes a bike in water
7. Wide shot, houses underwater
8. Wide shot, a shop underwater
9. Wide shot, a house underwater
10. Closeup, a boy stands on bamboo made raft
11. Wide shot, a boy steers a raft
12. Wide shot, two men in a boat
13. Med shot, two boys get off their rafts
14. Wide shot, houses submerged underwater
15. Wide shot, UNFPA-supported Debipur Community Clinic-Begumganj, Noakhali submerged underwater.
16. Wide shot, a woman walks in wrist-high water
01 SEPT 2024, BANGLADESH, NOAKHALI ADARSHA HIGH SCHOOL, MANCHANPUR, SADAR MAIZDEE, NOAKHALI DISTRICT, CHITTAGONG DIVISION
17. Med shot, Murshida Akhter, UNFPA Bangladesh Humanitarian Specialist, meets with women in the shelter
18. Med shot, Akhter meets with women and children in the shelter
19. SOUNDBITE (English), Murshida Akhter, Bangladesh Humanitarian Specialist, UNFPA:
“This is a shelter in Noakhali. This is a school, and 170 families are residing in this shelter. And there is an ongoing SRH (sexual and reproductive health) camp, and there are huge needs. I met with a couple of women and girls, and they are having so many problems. They came with only one [piece of] clothes. They left their houses, and they didn’t know that the flood was coming. They are not at all prepared for this.”
20. Wide shot, women and children in a classroom-turned shelter
21. SOUNDBITE (Bengali), Bilkis, displaced woman:
"I was flooded in neck-deep water before coming here. I was swept away with my children, with nothing but the clothes we were wearing. I have no idea how we’ll ever return home. I went to check yesterday, but the water is still too high to even enter the house.
22. Wide shot, people lineup in the UNFPA-supported mobile sexual and reproductive health camp in the shelter
23. SOUNDBITE (Bengali), Bilkis, displaced woman:
“I don’t know how we’ll manage to buy anything or return home with my children. I couldn’t do anything for my children. It makes me feel so sad."
24. Wide shot, people walk into the shelter
25. SOUNDBITE (Bengali), Nurnahar Begum, displaced woman:
"People provide us with water because we need it, and they give us food too. But even though we have food, I still worry. My husband can’t work anymore—how will I afford the things we need? If I visit the doctor, they won’t give me sanitary pads for free. I’ll only get them if I pay, but I don’t have the money. I’m struggling to manage my menstruation without the proper supplies.”
26. Med shot, UNFPA mobile sexual and reproductive health camp
27. Med shot, UNFPA mobile sexual and reproductive health camp
28. Med shot, UNFPA mobile sexual and reproductive health camp
29. SOUNDBITE (English), Murshida Akhter, Bangladesh Humanitarian Specialist, UNFPA:
“They are very happy with this mobile camp, supported by UNFPA. They are getting medicines, and they are getting treatment. Pregnant women are getting sexual reproductive health services.”
03 SEPT 2024, BANGLADESH, FENI DISTRICT, CHITTAGONG DIVISION
30. Wide shot, two women walk in water
31. Med shot, a UNFPA staff goes to an affected household
32. Closeup, muddy house ground after being flooded
33. Med shot, a woman stands in an iron sheet made house
34. SOUNDBITE (Bengali), Rina Akter, resident:
“The water was this high. It rises up to this level.”
35. Wide shot, flooded houses
36. Closeup, a woman walks on mud
37. Med shot, books and household items being dried under sunlight
38. Wide shot, damaged rooms
Floods in southeast Bangladesh, triggered by relentless monsoon rains and overflowing rivers in both Bangladesh and India, have submerged homes, schools, medical centres and villages in Chattogram and Sylhet Divisions. More than 5.8 million people have been affected, and over half a million people have sought refuge in evacuation shelters.
Climate change is increasing the frequency, severity and unpredictability of cyclones, floods and other extreme weather events affecting Bangladesh. The floods are the fourth major climate-related disaster to hit the country this year. Since the end of May, nearly 13 million people, across about a third of the country, have been impacted by Cyclone Remal; floods in the northeastern and northern regions; and now the flash floods in the southeast.
The floods are a reminder of the relentless impact of the climate emergency on women and girls. Around 1.6 million women of reproductive age live in flood-hit areas in the southeast, including an estimated 78,000 pregnant women. More than 8,700 women are due to give birth in the next month at a time when access to health care is severely disrupted. Health facilities, supplies and equipment have been damaged or destroyed by the floods. The situation is worsened by a lack of midwives to support district medical teams, and an absence of referral support for pregnant women seeking institutional care. Transportation to medical facilities is also hampered by massive damage to roads.
Protection risks have soared for women and girls, particularly given the high number of female-headed households with many men living and working abroad. Shelters lack space, privacy, toilet facilities, and lighting. More than 7,000 schools have also been forced to close, exposing more than 520,000 adolescent girls to increased risks of early and forced marriage. The absence of local protection services and police is hindering the reporting of incidents.
UNFPA’s partners were on the frontlines within 72 hours of the flooding, prioritizing immediate support to women, adolescent girls, and pregnant women in Noakhali, Feni and Khagrachari – some of the worst hit districts. Nine mobile camps have been set up in Feni, Noakhali, Moulvibazar, and Khagrachari districts, providing reproductive health services, including family planning, antenatal and postnatal care, to over 1,620 women and adolescents to date.
More than 1,510 kits, containing essential hygiene items, 350 baby kits with supplies for newborns; and 2,000 menstrual kits have been distributed to women and girls in Noakhali, Feni and Khagrachari. A mobile gender-based violence response team, including counselors, case workers, and community volunteers, has reached 2,500 women through individual and group sessions in flood shelters in Noakhali.
Beyond immediate relief, the road to recovery will be long. UNFPA requires US$ 4.92 million to reach its target population of 90,500 women, pregnant women, and adolescent girls, including gender diverse populations and persons with disabilities. As of September, only US$0.24 million has been mobilized.
