Dhaka, Nov. 10 -- The river took her home. A broken embankment lets the tide take what little remains. Displaced families along the coast sleep beside launch terminals or on pavements, fearing the water's return.

For Peya Begum, over 60, safety has become a life without an address. Erosion swallowed her home in Patahat of Barishal's Mehendiganj in the coastal south of Bangladesh.

She settled near the river port with her four daughters and grandchildren, but lost that refuge too. They now survive on vegetables collected from the wholesale market and her daughters' earnings.

"The river swallowed our house. Where could I go? So I came and started staying at the launch terminal. Now they will not let us stay there either. We are staying at...