Media CenterCRS Responds to Intense Flooding in Bangladesh, Nepal and India

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Nikki Gamer
Catholic Relief Services
[email protected]
(443) 955- 7125
 

BALTIMORE, MD, July 18, 2019 – Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is working with local partners to provide emergency relief amid the torrential rain and flooding in Bangladesh, Nepal and India. In Bangladesh, roads have been washed away, houses collapsed and croplands are under water, leaving more than 20,000 families in urgent need of support. In one region of India alone, more than 4.3 million people are in urgent need of support.

“The most immediate need right now is clean water and food. With wells flooded, people aren’t able to access water that’s safe to drink, safe to bathe with, or safe to give to their livestock. Until the water recedes, people in the heavily affected areas are going to need ways of getting enough food to feed their families. Their livelihoods, especially for farmers, are also at risk,” said Caroline Brennan, director of communications for CRS’ humanitarian response team.

The heavy rainfall, which began more than a week ago, has led to flash flooding and landslides and has cut off road access for emergency aid. More rain is expected in the upcoming days, further threatening the livelihoods of the most vulnerable people in the region, including the more than one million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.

“As the rain continues, people are suffering. Lives are at risk and everything is coming to a complete standstill. In Bangladesh, we’re hearing reports of food prices rising because of the disruption in the local markets. Landslides are already limiting how much we can reach the affected areas and assess the need. Some of our partners have had to provide support via boats because the flooding has gotten so bad.”

Many croplands in the region have been underwater for more than six days, leading to rising food prices and to a rising fear among farmers that they won’t have a harvest at all.

“CRS has been working with our partners across the region for years,” Brennan said. “We’ve seen the devastating effect that flooding like this can have and we’ll be there to help people rebuild when the water finally recedes.”

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Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.  For more information, visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org and follow Catholic Relief Services on social media in English at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube; and in Spanish at: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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