Food forecasters yesterday said flooding in some northern and northeastern districts was set to improve as rains dropped, but more lowlands in central districts including Dhaka were likely to be swamped by floodwaters rolling down from upstream in the next 72 hours.

The bodies of an unknown woman, aged about 35, and a child were plucked from the Surma near a breach in the embankment at Gouripur on Tuesday, taking the death toll in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts to 21.

The floods closed hundreds of educational institutions and forced thousands of villagers to move to safety or live on their own without food and shelter.

District administrations in the flooded regions demanded more relief goods, including food, safe drinking water, clothes and medicines.

Different organisation including some left-leaning parties demanded declaration of the flood-hit districts as distressed areas and emergency relief for the victims.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre in Dhaka said the situation was likely to deteriorate in Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Sirajganj and Pabna.

Fresh areas in Manikganj, Nawabganj, Narsingdi, Madaripur and Shariatpur may go under water soon, it said.

More areas in the districts of Dhaka, Narayanganj, Manikganj, Nawabganj, Narsingdi, Madaripur and Shariatpur may be swamped and the situation in most places in Naogaon and Bogra may remain unchanged.

In Manikganj, the flood situation worsened in the last two days inundating more areas and disrupting road communication.

In Gaibandha, the misery of flood affected people climbed further as some youths began extorting Tk 100 for a square feet on embankments in protection money.

Rivers across the district were flowing much above the danger level inundating 130 shoals inhabited by over two lakh people.

All the educational institutions in the affected areas were closed indefinitely.

In Sylhet, the situation did not improve although water started receding from some areas. The Surma and Kushiyara rivers are still flowing above danger levels, officials informed.

Gushing waters were entering new villages under Manikpur, Birosri and Barohal unions breaking through the Surma and Kushiyara dykes in Jakiganj upazila. Fresh villages in Kanaighat upazila also went under water in the last two days.

In Sunamganj, the situation marked a little improvement with a downward trend in the water level of the Surma. Ninety-one flood shelters were set up in the district, including 21 in municipal areas.

Low-lying areas in four upazilas of Habiganj district were inundated in the last two days. Baniachang, Lakhai, Ajmiriganj and Nabiganj upazilas are now in the grip of floods.

In Rangpur, embankments on the Brahmaputra at Rajibpur and the Dharla in Kurigram sadar were damaged, causing 450 houses to collapse in the raging rivers in the last twenty-four hours.

All offices and educational institutions under three unions in Rajibpur upzila went under five feet water as roiling waters cascaded down from hills in India.

Moazzem Hossein, upazila nirbahi officer of Rajibpur, said that the floods suddenly marooned two lakh people in the upazila.

Thousands of people took shelter on rooftops of their submerged houses, but no help reached the stranded people.

The flood forecasting centre said the Brahmaputra-Jamuna started receding in the upstream while the Ganges-Padma continued further rise at all points.

Most rivers in the Meghna and the Southeastern Hill basins recorded fall.

Thirty of 85 monitoring stations recorded rise, 36 marked fall and one remained steady yesterday. Twenty-one points flowed above danger level.