Vast swathes of land across the country remained under water Tuesday with only trees and rooftops visible in some places, officials said, predicting that the situation would get worse before it improves.

While flood water was starting to recede slowly in northern districts, the situation in the centre of the country including the capital Dhaka was likely to deteriorate, the official BSS agency quoted government official as saying.

Nearly half of the capital has been inundated turning some streets into rivers and forcing 250,000 of the city's most vulnerable inhabitants out of their slum homes.

The flooding claimed 44 lives Monday, BSS added, pushing the total number killed since the floods began on July 10 to 329.

A high tide in the Bay of Bengal would prevent water dispersing because the sea level is expected to remain slightly higher until the full moon on August 2, experts said.

In the meantime, water dispersing from northern areas would continue to gush downstream resulting in worsening flooding in central Bangladesh.

Flood Warning Centre officials said the situation would be exacerbated by further monsoon rains expected from Wednesday.

In Dhaka, thousands of slum dwellers have been the worst hit by the flooding. Some 252,000 have taken shelter in 206 makeshift centres set up by Dhaka City Corporation, BSS said.

Others have clung to their shanty homes sleeping on bamboo platforms as the sewage polluted waters rise around them. Many others are sleeping on pavements under plastic sheeting.

Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi government discussed the joint distribution of aid with non-governmental organisation representatives in Dhaka Monday, although it said it had sufficient relief materials to meet current demand, BSS said.

The World Food Program has warned that Bangladesh "could face a major humanitarian crisis" in coming days and is preparing to distribute 3,000 tonnes of rice to people in northern and central Bangladesh.

Britain has announced it is to provide 18 million dollars for relief supplies to be delivered via the World Food Programme and the United Nations Development Fund, BSS added.

The US has also said it would donate 50,000 dollars in emergency assistance.

Floods across south Asia, including parts of northeastern India and Nepal have claimed hundreds of lives over the past 18 days.

The flooding is the heaviest seen in Bangladesh since the worst ever floods of 1998 when more than 700 people died and 21 million were left homeless.

Low-lying Bangladesh sees at least 20 per cent of the country flooded each year during the rainy season.

The country is criss-crossed by a network of 230 rivers including major arteries which carry melting ice from the Himalaya before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

Experts say the human cost of flooding in Bangladesh has risen over past decades as pressure on land from a growing population has forced hundreds of thousands of people to live in areas vulnerable to flooding.

TERRA.WIRE