Cyclones, floods, and droughts annually kill thousands in the young, overpopulated republic. Bangladesh Water long has been the life's blood and the bane of Bangladesh's existence. The country essentially is one massive alluvial plain, and most of its residents make their living growing rice in or fishing from its waters. But that same peculiar topography also leads to horrendous disasters, including vicious tropical cyclones that routinely churn out of the Bay of Bengal and drown hundreds or even thousands with no place to run.
Floods also take a major toll on the country.
This summer, nearly two-thirds of Bangladesh was inundated after heavier than normal monsoon rains sent rivers blasting over their banks and refused to abate. For decades, thousands of Bangladeshis died each year from drinking from bacteria-infested ponds and other stagnant waters. Unfortunately, tests of those wells indicate the water contains high levels of arsenic - an insidious killer made famous by its roles in murder mysteries. Additional tests showed that naturally occurring arsenic is leaching into the underground aquifers, posing a serious, long-term health risk to those using the water. The effects of arsenic often cannot be seen for decades.