U.N. agency sends food to Bangladesh

NEW YORK, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Thousands of destitute families, driven from their homes by severe flooding in Bangladesh, remain stranded on sandbanks, the United Nations said Friday.

Heavy rain in the past two weeks has left parts of Satkhira district in southwestern Bangladesh underwater, Michael Dunford, country director for the World Food Program, said. At least 57,000 people have been affected by the flooding in a district where chronic malnutrition was already a problem.

The Australian government has provided funding for almost 35 tons of high-energy biscuits, Dunford said. Each of 11,500 households will receive 40 packets of biscuits to provide emergency rations.