Continuous heavy rainfall over the past three days has worsened the flood situation in Sylhet for the second time in just 20 days. Nearly seven lakh people in the Sylhet metropolitan area and throughout the district are now stranded. In the metropolitan area alone, 50,000 people across 21 wards have been affected by flooding, according to Sylhet district administration sources. Sylhet experienced the first phase of flooding on May 27, affecting approximately seven lakh people across all upazilas. The water had not fully receded when heavy rainfall and hill torrents hit again on June 15, worsening the situation by Eid day (June 17). Heavy rainfall on Eid-ul-Azha morning was briefly followed by a recession, but rain resumed from Tuesday dawn, causing significant overflows in all rivers and streams in Sylhet. On Eid day, water levels were above danger points at two river locations. By Tuesday morning, water levels at four rivers were above danger points at six locations. Sylhet mayor holds emergency meeting to address severe flooding This morning, water was flowing above danger levels at six points of three rivers.   The Water Development Board in Sylhet reported that by 9 am today, the Surma River at Kanaighat point was 91 cm above danger levels. At another point in Sylhet, it was 31 cm above the danger level. The Kushiyara River was 46 cm above danger level at Amalshid, 92 cm above at Fenchuganj and 12 cm above at Sherpur point.  According to the district administration, 675,937 people in 13 upazilas, including Sylhet metropolitan area, have been stranded till midnight. Of them, 50,000 people of 21 wards out of 42 in Sylhet metropolitan area are stranded.  A total of 627 shelter centres have been opened in the district. Of these, 80 are in the metropolitan areas. A total of 17,285 people have taken shelter in these centres. However, most people are not willing to leave their homes and go to shelters.  A total of 1,323 villages in 13 upazilas of the district have been inundated. The worst affected are: Gowainghat, Jaintapur, Golapganj, Companiganj, Kanaighat, Zakiganj, Biswanath and Osmaninagar upazilas. Sylhet grapples with fresh bout of flooding, dampening Eid celebrations across division Low-lying areas of the city are particularly hard-hit, with Shahjalal suburb completely submerged and water reaching neck level in many homes. Other severely affected areas include Jatrapur, Mendibagh, Shibganj, Raingar, Sobhanighat, Kalighat, Kamalgarh, Machimpur, Taltala, Jamtola, Kajirbazar, Madina Market, Akhaliya, and Mezortil. Several important roads in the city are also flooded. From 6 am Tuesday to 6 am Wednesday, the Sylhet Meteorological Office recorded 100 mm of rainfall and 55 mm from 6 am to 9 am today. Moreover, the Met office forecasted continuous heavy rainfall for the next three days. The district administration is actively working to rescue stranded individuals and has set up control rooms at the district collector's office and upazila executive offices to monitor the flood situation. Dedicated officers have been appointed in each upazila, and medical teams have been formed at union levels to provide health services to flood victims. If the heavy rainfall persists, the flood situation in Sylhet is expected to deteriorate further. Meanwhile, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Mohibbur Rahman, accompanied by the ministry’s officials, saw the flood-hit areas from a helicopter in the morning. He is scheduled to leave Sylhet for Dhaka by this afternoon.  Water levels of Surma, Kushiyara rivers in Sylhet again above danger level

Low-lying areas in Lalmonirhat district have been flooded as the Teesta River is flowing 20 cm above the danger level at Dalia point due to continuous rainfall for the last few days until Monday (August 14, 2023) and the onrush of upstream water. The water flow at Dalia point of Teesta Barrage, the country's largest irrigation project, was recorded at 52.35 cm at 6:00 am on Monday, 20 cm above the normal level of 52.15 cm. Read: Untimely Teesta River erosion perplexes people in Lalmonirhat People living near the barrage and on the river’s banks said the water flow of the river increased due to heavy downpour and the onrush of upstream water for the last few days. All sluice gates were opened to control the water flow of the river, they said. They said several hundred families have already been stranded and low-lying areas of the left banks of the river inundated after the river swelled. Mominur Rahman, a resident from Mahiskhoca union under Gobordhan area, said they have to take boats to go to others' houses due to flood. Read: Flood situation improves in Bandarban Amsar Ali, who lives on the left river bank, said they are passing nights amid fear as the water is increasing in the river alarmingly. Asfa-Ud-Doula, executive engineer of Water Development Board at Teesta Barrage’s Dalia Zone, said the low-lying areas on the banks of the river were inundated and all gates of the Teesta Barrage were opened to control the flow of water. Read more: Flood situation in Ctg, Feni, Bandarban and Cox`s Bazar may improve in 24 hrs: FFWC

People in several flood-affected areas of Kurigram district are crying for relief as authorities scramble to help over two lakh stranded survivors even a week after the natural disaster. The Brahmaputra river is flowing 37 cm above the danger mark at Chilmari point while the Dharla river is flowing 20 cm above the danger mark at Setu point. Abdullah Al Mamun, executive engineer of Kurigram Water Development Board, said the flood situation in the district may improve in the next few days. Shahidul Islam, district education officer, said the educational activities of 65,000 students have been hampered due to the closure of 294 government primary schools in the district. Besides, 23 secondary schools, seven madrashas and a college are also shut due to the floods.

The Water Development Board (WDB) has issued a red alert in the Teesta Basin after the river swelled above danger level due to onrush of water from upstream. Teesta crossed 60 cm above danger level since Wednesday afternoon due to the onrush of hill water and heavy rainfall upstream in India. The authorities in Bangladesh have ordered an evacuation of the people living in villages along the river’s banks. Extreme panic is prevailing among the residents of Teesta bank due to the sudden rise of Teesta water. In addition, flood fuses on the north side of the Teesta Barrage are reported to be under threat of getting damaged. Due to the rise in Teesta, 15 villages of Purba Chhatnai, Tapa Kharibari, Khagakharibari, Khalisha Chapani, Jhunagach Chapani and Gayabari Union of Dimla upazila of Nilphamari and six villages of sandbar of Jaldhaka upazila have been flooded. The residents of those areas have evacuated to safer places, said the people's representatives of those unions. Hundreds of hectares of crop land have been inundated. READ: Teesta flowing above danger level, 44 barrage gates opened Abdul Latif Khan, Purbachhatnai UP chairman of Dimla upazila in Nilphamari, said the right bank of the Teesta at Zero Point in the area and the Groen dam is under threat of getting damaged. Water is flowing especially over the Groen dam. If the Groen collapses, hundreds of houses in the area, including the dam on the right bank of the Teesta, will be washed away by the Teesta River. Tepakharibari UP chairman Moinul Haque said the Teesta Bazar, Telirbazar, Dolapara and Charkharibari areas have already been submerged. All crop lands in the sandbars are under water. In Lalmonirhat, the Barakhata to Hatibandha bypass road has collapsed at various places due to sudden rise in water level of Teesta river. As a result, thousands of families in this union have been marooned. Thousands of acres of crop land on the banks of Teesta in five upazilas of Lalmonirhat district have been submerged in water. Lalmonirhat Deputy Commissioner Abu Jafar said he has instructed the union chairmen and UNOs to look over the flood situation in these areas. The Teesta river was flowing 52.70 cm above the danger level at Dalia point on Tuesday night while it was flowing 60 cm above the danger level around 10 am on Wednesday. This is due to the onrush of hill water and heavy rainfall, according to Board officials. READ: Teesta turns turbulent in Kurigram; leaves 100 families homeless The low-lying areas of Dahgram in Patgram upazila, Gaddimari, Singamari, Sinduna, Patikapara, Dauabari in Hatibandha upazila and Bhotmari, Soilmari, Nohli, Char Boirati in Kaliganj upazilas of Lalmonirhat district have been flooded, affecting some 10,000 families. Asfaudoula, executive engineer of the Water Development Board at Dalia point, said  “The Teesta water is flowing 60 cm above its danger mark and the authorities concerned have opened all the 44 gates of the barrage.” Besides, the residents along the river have been asked to take shelter in safer places issuing red alert.

Seven villages in Fulgazi upazila of Feni district have got submerged as the flood control embankment along the Muhuri River collapsed due to the onrush of water, destroying crops and dwellings. The river was flowing 140 cm above its danger level, cutting off road communications with Parshuram areas. Sources at the upazila administration and Water Development Board (WDB) said the embankment at Jaipur point in Fulgazi Sadar Union got damaged due to the deluge of water from across the border. READ: Searches, sorrow in wake of Ida’s destructive, deadly floods They said the floods sent Fulgazi Sadar Union, West Ghaniamora, East Ghaniamora and Kismat Ghaniamoa, Jaipur, North Daulatpur, South Dinajpur and Bairagpur areas under water, damaging houses and huge crops. Fulgazi Union Parishad (UP) chairman Nurul Islam said the floodwater poured into the villages through the damaged parts of the embankment at Jaipur part in Sadar Union.

About 15,520 hectares of cropland have gone underwater in Kurigram district till Monday morning as the water level in the rivers has started rising again. The water level in Dharla river has increased by 10 cm and in Brahmaputra river by 5 cm in the last 24 hours. Read: Flood in Kurigram getting worse Kurigram Water Development Board Executive Engineer Md Ariful Islam said water level in the Dharla River has risen to 34 cm above the danger level and 23 cm in the Brahmaputra river’s Chilmari Point on Monday morning. However, increased water has reduced erosion. The low-lying areas and sandbars of the district have gone under water. Till Monday, 15,520 hectares of crops have been submerged in the district. Of these, Aman is planted 15,115 hectares, vegetables are 270 hectares and seedbed is 95 hectares.

Over 100 families in Ulipur upazila of Kurigram district have lost their homes to erosion by the Teesta River in just one week. Villages like Arjun in Daldalia Union and Gorai Pier, Dalal Para, Hokdanga and Doctor Para in Thetrai Union of the upazila have been hit hard by the turbulent river. Read:Tagore’s historic Kuthibari is threatened by river erosion, locals scream for help Five educational institutions, two community clinics, roads and one hundred acres of arable land now stand threatened due to the gushing water from the river, locals said. At least 500 families of these areas have turned paupers as they lost their homes and lands in this monsoon alone, the UNB correspondent reported after visiting the affected areas. Ziaur Rahman, a resident of Arjun village in Daldalia union, said,” Although much of the village was devoured by the river, no visible steps have been taken in this regard by the authorities concerned.” The residents of other affected villages also made the same allegations. Read: Riverbank erosion leaves Gashial residents on the edge

Erosion in River Padma during the peak monsoon has threatened the Kuthibari, the historic country house of Nobel Laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, at Shelaidah in Kushtia district. The erosion along the river’s bank near Kuthibari and its adjacent area has taken a serious turn and the residents of the area are passing days in fear of losing their land and homes to the mighty Padma. Read:Riverbank erosion leaves Gashial residents on the edge Earlier, the government had taken steps to protect the Kuthibari from river erosion in 2018 by building an embankment but it did little to help the villagers. According to the Kushtia Water Development Board, the authorities concerned have built a 3,720 meter flood protection dam, involving Tk 167 crore in the fiscal year 2016-2018. Of the total dam, 2,720 meter built in Sultanpur part of Koya union while the remaining 1000 meter in Shelaidah portion. The authorities named the project as ‘Kuthibari protection dam’. Read Padma erosion threatens Daulatdia Ferry Terminal Local people alleged that the authorities concerned have built the dam excluding the 1.5 kilometre area of Kuthibari under the project. The project stretching from Shelaidah Kuthibari and adjacent areas remains in the paper but actually no dam has been built on the main portion of the Kuthibari.

 

The High Court on Sunday asked a Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) engineer to surrender within three weeks.