Floods cause Tk 14,421 crore damage in eastern Bangladesh: CPD study

The recent floods in eastern Bangladesh caused damage estimated at Tk 14,421.46 crore, which is around $1.20 billion, according to a study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

The findings were presented at a media briefing titled "Recent Flood Damage and Rehabilitation Process in Eastern Region: CPD's Analysis" at the CPD office in Dhaka today.

The study highlighted that the damage represents 1.81 percent of the national budget for fiscal year (FY) 2024-25.

In terms of GDP, it accounts for 0.29 percent of FY24's provisional GDP and 0.26 percent of the projected GDP for FY25.

The floods, which began on August 19, 2024, were caused by continuous heavy rainfall and upstream water flows, affecting 11 districts in the region.

CPD's damage assessment focused on Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Feni, Khagrachhari, Cox's Bazar, Cumilla, Noakhali, Chattogram, Lakshmipur, and Brahmanbaria.

The agriculture and forestry sectors were the most severely impacted, suffering Tk 5,169.71 crore in damages, or 35.85 percent of the total. 

The infrastructure sector followed with losses of Tk 4,653.92 crore (32.27 percent), while the housing sector incurred damages of Tk 2,407.31 crore (16.69 percent), according to the CPD study. 

Noakhali experienced the highest monetary losses, accounting for 29.07 percent of the total damage, followed by Cumilla (23.51 percent), Feni (18.61 percent), and Chattogram (11.63 percent).

The data also points out that districts such as Noakhali, Cumilla, and Feni were disproportionately affected.