Dhaka, Sep 7 (IANS): Floods in August have inflicted 33.46 billion taka (US$280 million) in damage to agriculture in Bangladesh's eastern area.

According to the latest data from the agriculture ministry, more than 200,000 hectares of cropland have been damaged out of a total of 372,733 hectares of land affected by floods in the country, reports Xinhua news agency.

The deluge, as a result of upstream mountain runoff and heavy rainfall, began on August 20 and quickly spread to many districts, including Feni, Cumilla, Chattogram and Noakhali in southeastern Bangladesh.

Mohammad Zakir Hossain, the agriculture ministry's senior information officer, said over 1.4 million farmers have been affected by the floods. The ministry has planned a recovery program to support the affected farmers.

According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, the death toll has risen to 71 across 11 districts, with 29 fatalities reported in Feni alone. Over 5 million people have been affected by the recent floods in the South Asian country.