A steady stream of injured flowed into an overwhelmed hospital in the town of Darkush, in rebel-held northwestern Syria on Monday, after a deadly earthquake struck the region. Mothers hovered over crying children. Amid the chaos, one man sat with a dazed expression, his face covered with abrasions. The man, Osama Abdul Hamid, barely made it out alive with his wife and four children from his apartment building in the nearby village of Azmarin. Many of their neighbors were not so lucky. “The building is four stories, and from three of them, no one made it out,” Abdul Hamid said, breaking down in tears. “God gave me a new lease on life.” At an equally overwhelmed hospital in Idlib city, Shajul Islam, a British doctor who works with several non-governmental organizations, was having the worst day of his seven years working in Syria. “I’m literally taking a patient off a ventilator to give another patient a chance, having to decide which patient has more of a chance of surviving or not,” Islam said. The hospital, already struggling with weak health infrastructure and funding cuts, he said, was particularly overburdened after the earthquake because other hospitals in the area were out of commission. “We’ve got quite a lot of hospitals that had been previously hit in the war. So they had already the foundations, everything had already been weakened,” he said. With the added blow of the earthquake, he said, "We’ve had at least three or four hospitals that I know of that have been put out of service." The powerful 7.8 magnitude quake that struck before dawn on Monday wreaked new damage and suffering in Syria’s last rebel-held enclave after years of fighting and bombardment. Hospitals and clinics were flooded with injured people. The enclave, centered in Idlib province, houses millions of displaced Syrians who had fled their homes during the country’s civil war. Many of the displaced live in dire conditions in makeshift camps. Many others there and in neighboring government-held areas are housed in buildings weakened by past bombings, leaving them even more vulnerable to shocks from earthquakes. The quake caused total or partial damage to buildings in at least 58 villages, towns and cities in northwestern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor. More than 4,000 people were killed in Turkey and Syria, with the toll expected to climb. In the opposition-held territory in Syria, at least 450 were reported dead, but hundreds more were believed be buried under the rubble of their homes. “This disaster will worsen the suffering of Syrians already struggling with a severe humanitarian crisis,” Carsten Hansen, the director for the Middle East at the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a statement. “Millions have already been forced to flee by war in the wider region and now many more will be displaced by disaster.” In the hospital in Darkush in western Idlib, Abdel Hamid said his family were sleeping in their apartment when they were roused by powerful, prolonged shaking. They ran from the apartment, but “before we reached the door of the building, the whole building came down on us,” he said. A wooden door shielded them from the worst force of the collapse — they all got out alive. He and his wife and three of the children suffered head injuries, but are all in stable condition. The scale of the casualties quickly overwhelmed the hospital’s resources, said Majdi al-Ibrahim, a general surgeon at the hospital. “We need urgent help. The danger is beyond our capacity,” he said. The Syrian American Medical Society, which runs hospitals in northern Syria and southern Turkey, said in a statement that its facilities are “overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways” and called urgently for “trauma supplies and a comprehensive emergency response to save lives and treat the injured.” The opposition territory in the northwest corner of Syria has held out for years even after Syrian government forces retook most rebel-held areas around the country. Fighting still flares from time to time with Russian-backed Syrian forces nearby. Parts of the territory are run by rebel groups, including a dominant al-Qaida-linked militant faction, while parts are under a Turkish-backed administration known as the Syrian Interim Government. The disaster came on the heels of severe winter storms, further adding to the misery of those left without shelter. “There is rain and the weather is very cold, there is snow in some of the areas,” Abdel Hakim al-Masri, economy minister with the Turkish-backed regional administration, told The Associated Press. He noted that some of the displacement camps in the area had been decimated by the quake. Al-Masri said that efforts have begun to find temporary shelter for the people now doubly displaced by the earthquake, but that the magnitude of the response required is well beyond the local resources available. “There is a huge amount of suffering, and this will increase it,” he said. "This matter calls for rapid action by all countries of the world.” ___ Sewell reported from Beirut.  

A flood-like situation has been prevailing at Kurigram’s Roumari upazila for the past one week. “Water is everywhere. Can’t move anywhere as going out means additional costs. Flood has exacerbated my already prevailing sufferings to a great extent,” said Nojir Hossain, a day laborer from Kheyarchar village under Jadurchar union of the upazila. Flooding has swept across five unions of Kurigram’s Roumari and Rajibpur upazila due to the swelling of Jinjiram, Kalo and Dharani rivers that flow directly from India. Although flood water has affected the east side of the Dhaka-Roumari highway, the west side of the highway, through which Brahmaputra, Holholiya and Sonabhori rivers run, has remained unaffected due to low water levels in the respective rivers. According to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Roumari upazila Md Ashraful Alam Rasel, at least 50,000 people from a total of 45 villages under the five unions have become stranded due to the flooding. “Around 30 km road networks have gone under water. A total of 32 educational institutions have been shut down. Besides, crops cultivated in 283 hectares of land have been totally damaged,” added Rasel. Rasel mentioned that the upazila administration has provided Tk 300,000 for buying emergency relief items including flattened rice, parched rice, sugar, salt, and candles. The items will be distributed among the flood victims soon. Read: Flood in Kurigram getting worse “Although floodwater hasn’t entered our house, it has destroyed all the vegetables that we had cultivated in our yard. Now we’ll have to buy vegetables from the bazaar, which will result in increased living costs. This is happening at a time when my husband can’t even go out to search for work due to the flooding,” said Nazma Begum, a housewife from Bokbandha Beparipara village. Nazrul Islam, Member of Kheyarchar ward no 1, said that floodwater has inundated more than 600 houses in his area. “Besides, the flood victims of my constituency haven’t received any relief item yet,” added Nazrul. According to Roumari Upazila Parishad Chairman Sheikh Abdullah, the public representatives of the area have been instructed to prepare a list of the flood-affected people. “Around 5,000-6,000 workers of the Roumari Land Port have become jobless due to the flooding. I’ve requested the district administration so that they can receive help from the government,” added Abdullah.

Renewed floods triggered by incessant rain and onrush of water from upstream hills have inundated vast areas of Sunamganj for the second time in weeks, putting thousands of people in extreme misery. People from Surma, Lakhsmipur, Bogula, Banglabazar, Norsingpur and Doara unions of Sunamganj Sadar upazila have been the worst hit by this flooding, said district officials. Although water from the first round of flooding late last month is yet to receded fully, the latest blow came within just three weeks causing untold suffering for the people of the affected areas. The affected people are enduring various water-borne diseases as the tube wells have submerged and the sanitation system has broken down in the flooded areas. Besides, road communications between  Surma, Lakhsmipur, and Bogula unions and the upazila Sadar have been cut off due to the flooding. Read: Flood situation worsens in Sunamganj; 11 upazilas flooded Thousands of people incurred huge losses as their paddy and vegetable fields were inundated during last month’s flooding. Just when they started to recover from their losses, the latest bout of deluge has compounded their plight.   Most of the rivers running through the Sunamganj Sadar upazila were flowing above the danger mark until Friday morning. Increased water flow submerged most of the houses and roads of the upazila in the last 24 hours. Upazila Nirbahi Officer(UNO) of Sunamganj Sadar Farzana Priyanka said that the district administration was keeping in touch with the Water Development Board (WDB) constantly. Besides, they’ve also kept their flood monitoring rooms open. “The administration and the public representatives are always active to deal with any emergency. We’ve also stored up enough relief materials for the flood-affected people,” said Farzana.

Tens of thousands of people in Sunamganj, Sylhet, and Barishal districts have been marooned due to sudden flood water causing immense suffering to the residents. Water in the rivers of Sunamganj and Sylhet were flowing above the danger level on Tuesday due to the onrush of upstream hilly waters from India while five rivers in Barishal breached the danger mark because of tidal bores.  In Sunamganj, around 10 lakh people remained marooned in the district as the flood situation worsened in several areas including Chhatak upazila. More than five lakh people, 500 villages of Chhatak remained marooned since Monday. Water flooded more than two hundred primary schools and a hundred secondary schools and madrasas in the upazila. Around 10 kilometers of Gobindaganj-Chhatak-Tajpur road has been inundated due to the floodwater. Mamanur Rahman, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Chhatak, said the administration has announced Boula Govt Primary School, Tatikona Govt Primary School, Paper Mill Primary School, and SPPM High School as flood shelter centers for the flood victims. At least 70 families have already taken shelter at Paper Mill Primary School as water flooded their houses. READ: Flood situation worsens in Sylhet; low-lying areas in city inundated Water levels in the upazila have crossed 152cm in the Surma River. Meanwhile, residents of low-lying areas in Sunamganj city have been forced to leave their houses, with the flood situation worsening in the wake of the Surma River breaching the danger mark. UNB correspondent saw water entering the residential areas of Shoalaghar, Nabinagar, Dharargaon, Jail Road, North Arpin Nagar, Tegharia, and Barapara in the Sunamganj municipal area on Tuesday morning. Due to incessant rains in neighbouring India’s Meghalaya district over the last few days and the onrush of upstream hilly waters, many rivers in Sunamganj have breached the danger mark. “Water is flowing above the danger level at Sholaghar point of the Surma River in the city, along with other rivers like Jadukata River in Tahirpur. Adding to the woes, 102mm of rainfall have been recorded in Sunamganj in the last 24 hours," said Jahurul Islam, executive engineer of the Water Development Board. On the outskirts of the city, villages along the riverbank like Ibrahimpur, Sadargarh, and low-lying areas of Chatak, Tahirpur, Derai, Shalla, and Jamalganj were also flooded. Tahirpur and Bishwambarpur upazilas have been cut off from Sunamganj city, with the connecting road getting submerged. In Sylhet, thousands of city dwellers marooned in their inundated homes in the city as heavy rains and onrush of upstream hilly waters have worsened the flood situation. The floodwater entered dwelling houses, shops, and other establishments as the Surma River burst banks flowing above its danger point, inundating the suburbs of Sylhet city including Sobhanighat, Kalighat, Chandnighat, Chararapar, Sheikhghat, Taltala, Kalapara, Majumdarpara, Machimpur. People spent sleepless nights in different parts of the city on Monday as the water level continued to rise. The city dwellers were extremely busy shifting their important and urgent belongings and arranging safe shelter. Shelters have been opened at Kishori Mohan and Machimpur schools in the city for the flood victims, said Nur Azizur Rahman, chief executive officer of Sylhet City Corporation. According to Sylhet Water Development Board, the Surma River at Kanaighat point was flowing at 1.43 metres above the danger level at 9am on Tuesday which was at 1.25 metres above the danger level on Monday. At Sylhet point, Surma was flowing 29 cm above the danger level. The Kushiara River was flowing 45 cm above the danger level at Sheola Point.  The water of this river has also increased at Sherpur point. In Barishal, five of the 23 rivers in the Barishal division breached the danger mark Monday night due to tidal bores. Ahsan Alam, a surveyor of the Barishal Water Development Board, said that the Surma and Meghna rivers flowed 3cm and 41cm, respectively, above the danger mark in Daulatkhan and Tajumuddin upazilas. Similarly, the Tentulia, Bishkhali, and Biskhali rivers flowed 5cm, 6cm, and 7cm, respectively, beyond the red level. Meanwhile, the low-lying areas of the division were also inundated, causing immense suffering to the residents.

China's U.N. ambassador said Monday that North Korea is suffering "negatively" from the coronavirus and called for greater flexibility from the United States and other countries on lifting sanctions against the country.

Dhaka, Sept 5 (UNB) – A 5-year old girl died of dengue at Khulna Medical College Hospital on Thursday.

Dhaka, Aug 13 (UNB) - Three persons, including two children, died of dengue in Dhaka, Khulna and Laxmipur on Monday night and early Tuesday.

Dhaka, Aug 13 (UNB) – Hospitals across the country admitted 1,200 new dengue patients in 24 hours till Tuesday morning with reports of at least three people, including two children, dying of the mosquito-borne disease in three districts.

Dhaka, Aug 12 (UNB) – Two more people died of dengue and 2,093 new patients have been admitted to different hospitals across the country.

Dhaka, Aug 10 (UNB) - Disruption in the schedules of a number of trains, particularly of those that run on northern and southern routes, caused immense sufferings to Eid holidaymakers on Saturday.