UK aid has provided £950,000 of rapid release funding to NGOs through the START Fund to address the devastating floods that hit Bangladesh in recent weeks.

The European Union is providing EUR 100,000 for early anticipatory action to reduce the negative impact on the most affected communities due to floods in Bangladesh.   The aid is coming in response to severe flooding that submerged many parts of Bangladesh in late June.   The aid will benefit over 3,300 families in some of the hardest hit areas in Kurigram, Gaibandha and Jamalpur districts, said the EU Embassy here on Tuesday.   The EU funding supports the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society in using reliable scientific forecast information and risk analysis to foresee the potential impact of the floods and to conduct early actions aimed at reducing human suffering, losses and damage.   The aid includes evacuating the most vulnerable communities to safe shelters with their assets and livestock, providing unconditional cash grants, as well as providing first aid treatment.   The funding provided is part of the EU's overall contribution to the Forecast-based Action (FbA) by the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).   Heavy monsoon rainfall triggered extensive floods in northern and eastern areas of Bangladesh, causing extensive damage to homes and farmlands across the delta nation’s vast northern regions.   Thousands of people have found themselves marooned or displaced, said the EU.   The flooding could affect up to a million households over the first days of July, it said.