A vendor sells vegetables from a rickshaw van in a waterlogged street in Chattogram, Bangladesh, Aug 6, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

DHAKA — The floods in parts of southwest Bangladesh due to the onrush of upstream waters coupled with heavy downpours have affected over 1 million people and displaced tens of thousands.

According to the country's National Disaster Response Coordination Center (NDRCC) under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, 843,505 people were affected by floods in Chattogram district, which is some 240 km away of capital Dhaka.

At least six people in separate landslides died in Cox's Bazar district in the past week when incessant rains and the rush of upstream waters have inundated many places

The report, published on the ministry website on Wednesday night, said authorities have rushed teams of disaster response force to carry out rescue operation, distribute relief materials and supervise centers in at least five districts including Chattogram, Bandarban, Rangamati, Cox's Bazar and Feni where tens of thousands of people have taken shelter.

READ MORE: Health concerns in Bangladesh emerge as flood waters recede

Quoting local sources, leading English newspaper Dhaka Tribune said on Thursday that around 480,000 people in Cox's Bazar have been affected by the flood, leaving houses and wading through flooded roads or on boats in search of shelter, or a dry ground to live temporarily.

TV reports showed that wide areas of land are still under water in parts of the southeastern region of Bangladesh where floods also caused widespread damage to habitation, crops, roads and highways.

As floodwaters recede, traffic resumed on the major Chattogram-Cox's Bazar Highway on Thursday.

Bangladeshi soldiers were deployed on Tuesday to Chattogram to tackle its worsening situation of torrential rains.

At least six people in separate landslides died in Cox's Bazar district in the past week when incessant rains and the rush of upstream waters have inundated many places. Another death was reported Thursday from Chattogram.

READ MORE: Millions stranded as floods ravage parts of Bangladesh, India

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said it has displaced over 15,000 Rohingya refugees and 300,000 members of the local communities in Cox's Bazar.

The fragile infrastructure of the refugee camps, some 400 km southeast of Dhaka, has been severely damaged, with over 2,000 shelters destroyed as well as facilities such as health centers and community centers that are vital to the wellbeing of refugees.

Millions of people in Bangladesh, criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers, suffer from flooding as the low-lying country experiences seasonal floods every year during the June-September monsoon when rivers that feed into the Bay of Bengal burst their banks.