DHAKA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The growing flood death toll in Bangladesh hit 587 with 23 fresh deaths reported in the last 24 hours till Monday morning, as many parts of the country remained in the grip of floods.

    According to official statistics, some 10.5 million people of 39 out of the country's 64 districts have been affected by the floods, which started rolling in on July 30 and engulfed most part of the country.

    Nearly 66,159 people took shelter in 475 relief camps, having been displaced from their homes.

    Meanwhile, as monsoon are still active, the Padma river, one of the country's major rivers, may continue going up further but at a slower rate in the next 24-72 hours, according to a bulletin of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (FFWC) Monday.

    Flood situation in some central districts is "likely to improve or remain unchanged." Small rivers surrounding Dhaka and central Narayanganj district observed fall. The rivers are expected to fall further in the next 24-72 hours.

    The situation around Dhaka city, especially in the eastern part, is likely to improve in the next 24-72 hours.

    According to reports by local media, in the flood-hit areas, the spread of respiratory tract infections (RTI), skin diseases and conjunctivitis took a turn for worse, while the diarrhea situation appeared to have improved slightly.

    Over 15000 people have infected with RTI since the end of July, and at least 12 died of the disease.

    The number of patients with skin diseases hit 15,000 Sunday, while the number of the patients with conjunctivitis stood at 3,659.

    The number of people attacked by diarrhea reported from different parts of the country is decreasing. A total of 2,575 people were suffering from diarrhea on Sunday, comparing to 3,500 of the previous day.