Downpour halts life

People yesterday heading to work through almost waist-deep rainwater on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue in front of Prime Minister's Office. Photo: Amran HossainStaff Correspondent

Incessant rain overnight had much of the city knee-deep in water throughout the day yesterday, wreaking havoc on life and trade.

At least nine people were killed and many injured as they stepped on power cables that had shorted in the driving rain.

The met office said 290 millimetres of rain fell in six hours to 7:00am. It is a record six-hour rainfall for the capital in 60 years.

The country's highest rainfall in 24 hours to 7:00am was 333mm in Dhaka. The second highest was recorded in Mongla at 169mm.

Meteorologists said a low formed in the Bay joined forces with monsoon clouds and created a unique condition that caused such extraordinary rainfall.

They forecast the intensity will come down today, but the rain spell might continue till tomorrow.

The torrential pouring started at around 10 on Monday night. It soon submerged the city streets and alleyways, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded on their way back home.

With high winds and thunder, it snapped power and phone lines and making roads and sidewalks even more dangerous for late-night commuters.

People in the shantytowns were the worst sufferers. They found their huts under knee-deep water by 3:00am and had to take shelter in nearby buildings.

Most of those living on ground floors had to spend a sleepless night as they saw water reach for their beds.

Attendance at the government and private offices was very thin. Shopping malls and other businesses had few shoppers as people remained indoors.

Children in most areas could not go to schools.

Though it meant sufferings for the downscale urbanites, the rain ended long dry spells bordering on drought, much to the relief of the farmers.

Of those who contacted live power lines, seven including a woman and a baby girl were in the capital and the rest two in Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur.

Shafiqul Islam, 35, and six-year-old Bristi died in the city's Kafrul area, Abdul Kader, 28, in Fakirapul, Jannatul Mawa, 35, in Demra, Shahin in Mohammadpur and Bahar Uddin, 22, in South Kamalapur and Delwar Hossain, 30, in Jatrabari.

News Agency UNB reports that the Nalitabari victims are Azizul Haque, 55, and Muktarunnesa, 65. The two hailed from Haluaghat upazila in Mymensingh district.

As it poured all night the spectre of the floods that devastated Dhaka in 1988 and 1998 haunted the city dwellers.

Many commuters had to spend the night outside home as their vehicles could not reach destinations.

“I spent the night at a garage,” said a newspaper reporter who lives in Katashur.

“As the CNG taking me home got on Dhanmondi Road-27, water leapt up to the seats. Shortly afterwards the engine stopped forcing me to take refuge at the garage in a roadside building,” he added.

Most of the main thoroughfares including Manik Mia Avenue, Bijoy Sarani, Darus Salam Road, Airport Road, Rokeya Sarani, Mirpur-1, Mirpur Road, Outer Circular Road, Bijoy Nagar and the road in front of the Prime Minister's Office reeled under knee-to-waist-deep water for hours.

Passengers of the CNG-run auto-rickshaws had a terrible time as the three-wheelers stopped running without notice.

The rickshaws and auto-rickshaws that braved rainwater in the morning charged many times the usual fares.

Saiful Islam, a private firm employee, said it cost him Tk 200 to come to his office at Karwan Bazar from Mouchak.

Liton Ali of Kazipara in Mirpur said rickshaw-pullers charged Tk 50 for a ride that usually takes around Tk 5.

The manholes or potholes added to the sufferings as vehicles and pedestrians stumbled on them and fell in water.

Flights Cancelled
Two international flights--one of Malaysian Airlines from Kuala Lumpur and the other of Dragon Airlines from Hong Kong--failed to land at Zia International Airport Monday night because of rain.

"The Malaysian flight is scheduled to fly in again tonight," said an official from ZIA yesterday evening.

Other flights however left the airport and landed there on schedule, he added.

Bus and Ferry Services Disrupted
Hundreds of motorised vehicles, including CNG-run auto-rickshaws, taxicabs and private cars, were stranded on the waterlogged roads for hours as their engines went out of order.

Meanwhile, only a small number of buses, trucks and auto-rickshaws came out on the roads yesterday, causing sufferings to those venturing out.

Besides, buses running between the capital and Mymensingh, Sirajganj and Tangail had to opt for Gabtoli road instead of the inundated Airport Road.

Ferry services on many routes were also suspended, disrupting bus service on highways.

Operation of launches and speedboats along Mawa-Kawrakandi route remained suspended for inclement weather.

Besides, over 500 vehicles were stranded on both ghats, as ferries were taking three to four hours more than what they normally take to cross the Padma.

Other Districts
Our correspondents from different districts including Barisal, Khulna, Bagerhat Satkhira, Pabna, Sylhet, Chittagong, Manikganj and Noakhali dispatched similar stories.

They said many thatched and mud houses caved in and the flimsy ones got blown away. Many areas plunged into darkness as electricity went out due to heavy rains.

Our Chittagong correspondent reports: Life in the port city came to a halt due to ceaseless rain.

Loading and unloading of cargoes were suspended at the port.

According to the Met office, over 156mm rainfall was recorded in Chittagong city in 24 hours to 4:00pm yesterday.

Loading of bulk cargoes has remained suspended at different jetties and the outer anchorage in the port area for the last two days due to rain, said port officials.

Vessel operation on the port channel however continued, said Chittagong Port Secretary Syed Farhad Uddin Ahmad.

Reclaiming of some city canals by the Chittagong City Corporation seemed to have prevented situation getting worse in rains.

People in low-lying areas like Muradpur, Bahodderhat, Nasirabad, Badurtala, Agrabad CDA residential area, Agrabad Excess Road and Halishahar however still had to face waterlogging.

DND Embankment
The low-lying areas inside Dhaka-Narayanganj-Demra (DND) and Narayanganj-Narsinghdi embankments have been inundated due to incessant rain, paralysing the life of several thousand people.

Many schools inside DND remained closed and production at most of the 1,000 industrial units suspended.

The water level in Shitalakhya, Meghna, Brahmaputra and Dhaleswari rivers continued to rise. The district administration apprehended that if rain continues for next two to three days, the water level would go past the danger mark.

At least 300 houses and 400 shops and go-downs in a market inside Narayanganj-Narsinghdi dyke in Rupganj have gone under water causing a loss of several crores of taka.

Joynal Abedin, a resident of the area, said construction of five culverts on the link road was scheduled to be completed by January. But that did not happen, leading to waterlogging inside DND area.