Bangladesh?s heaviest rain in more than half a century eased yesterday but left the country reeling from the latest in a string of devastating floods. Much of the country, including the capital Dhaka, was knee-deep in water and a senior Dhaka weather official said more rain was likely in the next few days. ?We recorded a daily average of over 300 mm (12 inches) of rainfall ? the highest since 1952 ? in the last few days that has caused a new havoc to the country still reeling from the impact of the July floods,? he said.

The deluge struck as millions of Bangladeshis left homeless by the July floods ? the worst in 15 years ? were rebuilding. Those floods killed more than 700 people and cost the impoverished South Asian country around $7 billion in losses to agriculture, industry and infrastructure, the government estimates.

In the latest rains, high winds uprooted trees and electric poles and flattened hundreds of houses, disrupting power supply and transport. At least eight people were killed in the last few days when they touched live electric wires, police said. Several others died when their houses collapsed.

Thousands of farmers who had planted their fields after the earlier floods, trying to salvage a harvest of rice and vegetables, suffered another blow with the fresh rains. Agriculture officials said they were still assessing the extent of damage. Dhaka residents trudged to work or moved on boats through flooded streets, but many shops and schools were shut. The Dhaka Stock Exchange would remain closed until Saturday as its trading floor was still under water, DSE officials said.

Rainwater seeped into the Dhaka Central Jail, forcing many prisoners to huddle in water, security officials told reporters. Local government minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, who heads a disaster management committee, said additional pumps would be set up to drain rainwater from the city. ?If needed, we will seek help of Bangladesh Navy in the process,? he said.