UN allocates $4m for flood-hit Bangladesh

The United Nations has allocated 4.0 million US dollars from its Central Emergency Response Fund for Bangladesh, which has been hit by devastating floods, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Joyce Msuya, the acting UN emergency relief coordinator, has allocated the money that "will be used to support the response to the floods that have impacted nearly 6 million men, women and children in Bangladesh since late last month," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at a daily briefing.

So far, a reported 500,000 people have been displaced in more than 3,400 evacuation shelters in Bangladesh, where over 7,000 schools are closed due to flooding and about 1.7 million students are impacted.

The floods have caused an estimated of $156 million losses in livestock and in fisheries.

"We, along with our humanitarian partners, are mobilized and supporting the government-led flood response. We are also helping with local efforts to help the most vulnerable people and communities impacted by these floods," said the spokesman.

Bangladesh has been hit by four major climate-related disaster so far this year, including Cyclone Remal and the current devastating flash floods, impacting nearly 13 million people across land that covers about 30 per cent of the country.