5 killed, dams damaged as rains trigger floods in Bangladesh

Five people were killed in a landslide as thousands of people were affected and crops damaged in Bangladesh after heavy monsoon rains, officials today said.

Five people were killed in a landslide as thousands of people were affected and crops damaged in Bangladesh after heavy monsoon rains, officials today said.

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Police in the southeastern tourist town of Cox's Bazaar said five people, including a one-year-old child, were killed after rains triggered a landslide in the town's light house area.

One elderly woman survived after being rescued from the rubble, police said.

"A dyke and a dam on the Surma river gave way and flood waters gushed out," M Kamaluddin, an official in northeastern Sylhet district, said by telephone.

The rain had eased on Monday but Kamaluddin warned that "fresh rains can cause new problems."

Flash floods also affected some of the estimated 25,000 people in the Kanaighat, Bianibazar and Zakiganj areas of Sylhet district, 192 kilometers northeast of the capital Dhaka.

Several thousand more were also struggling with sudden rain-triggered deluges in neighbouring Habiganj district, officials said.

"We have yet to have details of damage to property or crops," Kamaluddin said.

Faruq Zahir, Sylhet's deputy administrative chief, told AFP that the sudden floods lasted for several hours after heavy rains hit the lowlands.

The floods were normal for this time of year, he said.

"This is normal for the rainy season in this district and the situation is not serious," he said.