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Problems with Flooding

Bay of Bengal, monsoon rains are the result. During the cool season, there is very little rainfall and temperatures can get quite cold. In general, average temperatures are about 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius). In the higher elevation regions, temperatures can reach near freezing in December and January. Flora Bangladesh is a lush tropical country filled with bamboo and mango groves, jackfruit, coconut and date palms, and other luxuriant vegetation. Very little of the country is forested. In general, Bangladesh has four distinct areas of vegetation. In

In a 2017 deluge, one-third of Bangladesh was flooded frommassive rainfall. In August of that year, a week’s worth of rain fell in just a few hours. Villagers in low-lying areas fled from their homes to higher ground. Over 1,200 people died in these floods. Entire homes (about 700,000 total) were washed away, as were livestock. Crops and food supplies were completely destroyed, with millions of acres of rice lands damaged. The Red Cross estimated that 41 million Bengalis were affected by the monsoon rains and severe floods. Elderly villagers described the rains as the “worst in living memory.” People feared starvation, and since half the country’s jobs are in the agriculture sector, people were out of work as well. The Red Cross described it as the worst flooding they had seen in forty years.

the east, near Chittagong, the landscape consists of low hills covered with bamboo and a climbing palm species known as rattan . The abundant bamboo is used to make paper in the country’s thriving paper industry. In central Bangladesh, near Dhaka, there are many lakes and swampy vegetation and jungles. The northwest part of the country is characterized by flat plains with cultivated vegetation and fruit orchards. This region is best known for its species of acacia tree, a hardwood called babul .

BANGLADESH’S GEOGRAPHY & LANDSCAPE 13