7月24日，世界粮食计划署的一位官员说，无情的雨季使洪水泛滥，造成了人道主义危机，随着孟加拉湾高潮的到来，形势将更加严峻。

  粮食计划署发言人西蒙在日内瓦接受记者采访是说，今后几周危机将更加严峻。

今年4月，山洪暴发毁坏了许多稻田作物，最近的倾盆大雨使许多家庭没有粮食供应了。而下季水稻收获要等到10个月后。

  世界粮食计划署刚刚完成了向1.5万人发放高能量饼干的工作，这些饼干仅仅能满足他们一周的需要。计划署正准备通过各非政府组织，分发3000吨大米。

  路透社报道说，上个月，洪水已造成孟加拉国、印度和尼泊尔近570人死亡，使数百万人离开家园，引发疟疾爆发。美联社报道的死亡数字更高，达到了705人。

  受降雨影响，孟加拉国三分之二的地方被水淹没，是15年来最严重的一次。下水管道爆裂，污染了饮用水。

一名高级卫生官员告诉路透社记者，由于降雨，至少有10万孟加拉国人遭受疟疾的折磨。疟疾在大部分洪水泛滥的地区流行，几百个医疗队正在设法防止疾病的蔓延。

  数以万计的竹房和草房被水淹没，数百万人没有粮食和清洁的水。在印度阿萨姆邦，1200万人无家可归。

满载着35名洪水受害者的渡船在首都达卡以南50英里的地方倾覆，包括3名儿童在内的7人泥水身亡。

由于大雨冲毁了桥梁和公路，救济工作困难重重。

原文如下：

Humanitarian Crisis Developing In Bangladesh, U.N. Says

Monday, July 26, 2004

A major humanitarian crisis is brewing in Bangladesh as relentless monsoon rains prevent flood waters from receding, a situation bound to worsen with the coming high tide from the Bay of Bengal, a World Food Program official said Friday.

The severe crisis could blossom in only a few weeks, agency spokesman Simon Pluess told reporters in Geneva.

Flash floods destroyed much of the rice crop in April while the recent torrential rains have wiped out food supplies in many homes.  The next rice harvest is not expected for another 10 months.

WFP just completed distribution of a week's supply of high-energy biscuits to nearly 15,000 people and is preparing to disburse 3,000 tons of rice through various nongovernmental organizations (U.N. release, July 23).

The flooding has killed nearly 570 people in Bangladesh, India and Nepal in the past month, forced millions from their homes and ignited a rampant diarrhea outbreak, Reuters reports (July 25).  Associated Press puts the death toll higher, at 705 (Parveen Ahmed, July 24).

Two-thirds of Bangladesh is submerged as a result of the rains, the worst in 15 years.  Sewage pipes have ruptured, contaminating the water supply.

At least 100,000 Bangladeshis have become afflicted with diarrhea due to the rains.  "Diarrhea is spreading in most flooded areas and several hundred medical teams are fighting to prevent the spread of the disease," a senior health official told Reuters.

Tens of thousands of bamboo and straw homes have been obliterated and millions are without food or clean water.  In India's Assam state, 12 million have become homeless (Reuters).

A ferry carrying 35 flood victims to safety capsized 50 miles south of the capital, Dhaka.  Seven people, including three children, drowned.

Relief operations have been difficult as the rains have washed away bridges and highways