In a long-range forecast, the meteorology department said more rain was expected over the next few days.

Fresh crests were building in the upper regions of the main Ganges, Padma and Brahmaputra rivers which threatened to worsen the situation downstream including already hard-hit central Bangladesh districts.

Two months of the worst floods on record have Left 529 dead, and more than a quarter of the 120 million population are homeless. Thousands of hectares (acres) of cropland have been ruined and road and rail networks damaged.

Thousands of telephone connections have also been affected, many in the capital Dhaka, reports said.

Bangladesh has called for urgent foreign aid of 879 million dollars, including 240 million dollars worth of food, as it battles to feed and shelter the homeless.

More than 70 milliondollars of international aid has been pledged so far.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed has ordered a mass planting programme to combat food shortages and rejected Opposition fears of famine after the floods.