flood situation
Brahmaputra, Dharla keep swelling; More areas submerged in Kurigram, Gaibandha
The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger level at different points in Kurigram and Gaibandha districts, inundating different low-lying and char areas Monday morning.
The Brahmaputra was flowing 51 cm above the danger level at Chilmari point of Kurigram and 4 cm above the danger level in Gaibandha town in the morning, said Water Development Board.
Also read: Lakhs marooned in 3 districts as rivers flow above danger mark
Besides, the Dharla River at the bridge point in Kurigram was flowing at 44 cm above the danger level.
In Kurigram, about 2,50,000 people of more than 200 chars in 49 unions have been marooned. Rowmari upazila is the worst-hit area as one lakh people have been stranded there in floodwater.
Met office predicts more monsoon rains across country
Amid worsening flood situation in parts of Bangladesh, the meteorological department forecast more downpour in 24 hours commencing 9am on Monday due to active monsoon over Bangladesh.
Also read: Flood: Waters start receding in hard hit north-east districts
“Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind and lightning flashes is likely to occur at most places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions with moderately heavy to very heavy falls at places over Rangpur, Mymensingh, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisins,” according to a regular Met Office bulletin.
Day and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country. At the same time, with a temporary gusty wind, its speed may increase from 30 to 40 kph.
Meanwhile, the Met Office recorded the highest 242mm rainfall in Chattogram in 24 hours till 6am on Monday.
Also read: Flooding to get worse as more rainfall headed for key region
Due to heavy rainfall, landslides may occur at places over the hilly regions of Chattogram and Sylhet divisions, said the met office in their latest warning.
Flood: Waters start receding in hard hit north-east districts
The flood situation in the country continued to worsen Sunday as the water started flowing downstream to the central regions from the north-east districts with risk of landslides in hilly areas.
While Sylhet, Sunamganj districts remained worst-hit in flooding from heavy rainfall and onrush of upstream waters, disrupted lives of millions in Moulvibazar, Netrakona, Sherpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Kishoreganj districts.
Water level in different upazilas and Sylhet city area started receding on Sunday.
“We could not count the rainfall from 6 am to 4 pm on Sunday as it was too little to be counted. From Monday the sky will become less cloudy, decreasing the rainfall. It will also improve the flood situation,” said Sayeed Chowdhury, senior metrologist from Sylhet Met office.
Meanwhile rail communication with Sylhet was restored after 24 hours on Sunday at 12:55 pm after the train started operating on Dhaka-Sylhet route, said Nurul Islam, Sylhet Railway Station Manager.
Power supply to Sylhet was disrupted on Saturday after flood water entered the Kumargaon grid power substation and the authorities were forced to shut it down, suspending power supply to the two districts. Later in the afternoon, the electricity supply was restored partially in some parts of Sylhet city, which falls within the district
Power supply was restored in several areas of the city including Zindabazar, Chauhatta, Amberkhana, Bandarbazar, Nayasarak, Nayor Pool, Shahi Eidgah, Tilagarh, Baluchar and Mirer Maidan from Saturday 8 pm .
Up to one lakh people have so far been evacuated from the flood-hit Sylhet and Sunamganj districts, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman said on Sunday.
Nearly 40 lakh people have been marooned in the two districts in one of the worst floods in the region in memory.
The rain-fed deluge inundated 60 percent areas in Sylhet district and 90 percent areas in Sunamganj district, the state minister told reporters at the Secretariat.
Already 75,000 people have taken shelter in different centers in Sunamganj and 30,000 people in Sylhet did the same.
The flood situation slightly improved in Sylhet while it remained static in Sunamganj district. Besides, the flood situation worsened in Habiganj and Moulvibazar districts.
The flood situation in north-eastern areas may improve but it will turn worse in the adjacent northern parts of the country due to rise in water levels of Brahmaputra and Teesta, he said.
The electricity supply to Sunamganj district and its adjacent areas had to be disconnected to avoid accidents as Chhatak and Sunamganj grid substations went under flood water.
Meanwhile, more than one lakh people of Chhatak upazila remained under flood waters till Saturday afternoon. People of the upazila have not received any kind of assistance including relief from the administration
Flooding to get worse as more rainfall headed for key region
The flood situation in Sylhet, Sunamganj, and Netrokona districts may further deteriorate in the next 24 hours, according to the Flood Forecasting & Warning Centre's latest bulletin.
According to the forecast circulated Saturday afternoon, water levels in all major rivers of the country continued rising, except the Surma in Sylhet - although may just have been due to being way over the red mark already.
Another transboundary river that was flowing way past its danger mark, the Teesta, may also normalise a bit, remaining near or slightly above its danger mark in the next 24 hours.
Read: No respite from flood onslaught in north-eastern districts
As a result, the flood condition may deteriorate in the low-lying areas of Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogura, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, and Rangpur districts.
As important as the forecast for Bangladesh, medium to heavy and even very heavy rainfall is predicted in the north-eastern region of India, over parts of Assam, Meghalaya, and the Sub-Himalayan parts of West Bengal, in the next 72 hours.
No respite from flood onslaught in north-eastern districts
The suffering continues for millions of Bangladeshis as the overall flood situation worsened again on Saturday, with six north-eastern districts - Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, and Sherpur -continuing to be the worst sufferers.
The situation is particularly dire in the two frontier districts of Sylhet and Sunamganj, where residents have described the 'worst flooding in living memory'. Even experts were at a loss to foresee the sheer pace at which the two districts have been inundated since Thursday, in close concert with record rainfall witnessed just across the border in Mawsynram and Cherrapunji, in India's hilly Meghalaya state, which are known as the wettest places in the world.
On Friday, the Sohra region of Meghalaya's Cherrapunji recorded its third highest rainfall ever in a 24-hour period, with 972.0 mm of rain. It added up to some 2500 mm since Wednesday, its highest 3-day count of rainfall in 27 years.
Also read: Army launches flood helpline for Sylhet, Sunamganj
Mawsynram recorded 1003.6 mm on Friday, its highest ever for a 24-hour period in June. With the waters inevitably destined to make their way down fiercely over the hilly terrain and rivers running downstream into Bangladesh, flooding in Sunamganj and Sylhet was bound to worsen on Saturday, and that is exactly what happened.
Flood situation turns grim: Power supply to Sylhet, Sunamganj suspended
The sufferings of flood-hit people in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts have mounted with more and more areas going under water and suspention of power supply to the two districts.
The situation turned severe with rising water levels in major rivers due to onrush of hilly water from India.
As floodwater entered Kumargaon grid power sub station in Sylhet at 12 pm on Saturday the authorities suspended power supply to the two districts, said Chief Engineer of Sylhet Power Development Board (Selling and distribution region), Abdul Kadir.
The unprecendented flood inunadated 80 per cent area of Sylhet district and 90 per cent area of Sunamganj, according to Flood Forecast and Warning Center.
Flood situation improves in Sunamganj
The overall flood situation in Sunamganj district has improved as floodwater is receding in different areas gradually after 10 days of havoc.
Around six lakh people of three upazilas under the district have suffered a lot due to the flood water setting a new record of miserable life.
Although flood water has receded from the houses, it remains on the roads.
Shahid Mia, a sexagenarian of Kalipur under the Sunamganj suburb, said, "All our houses were inundated by the flood water in 2017. The water at that time receded hurriedly. But, this year, floodwater receded very slowly which barred our and cattle movement.”
Also read: Diarrhoea breaks out in flood-hit Sylhet
Freedom Fighter Nurul Momen, a senior resident of the same area, said, “I have made my house in Kalipur 40 years ago. Floods hit my house several times. However, floods in 1988 and 2022 have lasted ever long.”
The problem can be solved only by dredging the river from Sunamganj to Bhairab, Nurul added.
Haorer Krishi and Krishak Raksha Sangram Parishad member secretary Chittaranjan Talukder said waters at many haors in the district are also receding although onrush from the hilly areas continues. It takes a few more days to recede water from all the stagnant areas.
Also read: Ways to Purify Water during Flood, Disaster, Emergency Situations
Shamsudduha, executive engineer of Water Development Board, Sunamganj said, “Three waterways (Surma-Dhanu-Meghna, Surma-Kalni-Meghna, and Surma-Meghna) of the district were flooded due to flash floods. A survey will be conducted soon for dredging in these three waterways. After implementation of the dredging project, flood water will recede in a hurry.”
All rivers of the district were flowing above the danger mark due to the onrush of hilly water and torrential rains since May 10. Upstream waters have worsened the flood situation in Sunamganj leaving thousands of villagers marooned in their inundated homes.
Flood situation improves in Sunamganj
People are waiting to return to their homes as the flood situation gradually improved in Sunamganj with the water level receding.
The local Water Development Board said Surma was flowing at 7.55cm at Sholghar point on Monday morning where the danger level is at 7.25cm.
Residents of several upazilas in the district have been hit hard by the flood that inundated cropland, roads, and houses and disrupted normal life.
Also read: Over 1.5mn children at risk as devastating floods hit north-eastern Bangladesh: UNICEF
The local Met office has recorded 11 mm of rain in the last 24 hours.
Shafiqul Islam, relief and rehabilitation officer of the district, said so far 165 metric tons of rice and Tk 12 lakh have been distributed among the flood-affected people in different upazilas.
Locals said that the fish from 1,250 ponds have been washed away this year. The fish farmers have suffered a loss of Tk 3.5 crore.
Besides, 11,000 hectares of Boro crops and about 400 km of roads have been damaged while hundreds of homes were destroyed.
Sunamanjera Deputy Commissioner Jahangir Hossain said the water has started receding and the victims are getting relief.
Also read: Flash Flood in Sylhet: Tk 2,173 crore losses in fishery resources
"The extent of damages will be ascertained later and relief assistance will be provided after preparing a list of victims,” he said.
Though the water level in Jagannathpur, Derai and Sullah upazilas is rising, the local administration is ready to face it, the officer added.
Flood situation worsens as 1 lakh people marooned in Sirajganj
Flood situation in Sirajganj has worsened as Jamuna River continues to swell above the danger level leaving at least one lakh people marooned.
The Jamuna is flowing 61 cm above the danger level in Sirajganj, deputy-assistant engineer Zakir Hossain of the Water Development Board told UNB on Thursday.
Sirajganj Sadar, Shahzadpur, Kazipur, Chowhali and Belkuchi have been the hardest hit upazilas, he added.
As usual, low-lying areas and croplands have mostly been affected by the flood.
READ: Flood in Kurigram getting worse
A huge portion of croplands has also been submerged adding to the miseries of the flood-hit people.
Meeting on agricultural production, stock held at Ganobhaban
A meeting on agriculture production and stock was held at the Ganobhaban on Thursday with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.