40 lakh people stranded in Sylhet, Sunamganj flood

The flood situation in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts is becoming more severe with time as more than 40 lakh people remain marooned in different upazilas and towns while other areas are on verge of being inundated.

Sylhet Divisional Commissioner Dr Muhammad Mosharrof Hossain said the administration with the help of the Bangladesh Army and local council representatives, was running rescue operations to save all stranded people in the remote flooded areas.

The flood was triggered on Wednesday (June 15, 2022) due to torrential rainfall in the north-eastern districts and the flash flood in upstream India's Meghalaya and Assam where record-breaking rainfall was recorded.

As days pass, the cry for rescue and relief is intensifying in the flood-affected areas. Many parts remain unreachable due to the high tide of floodwater and the shortages of vessels.

In Sylhet, the worst affected areas are Gowainghat, Companiganj, Kanaighat, Jaintiapur, Sylhet Sadar, Zakiganj, Bishwanath, and Golapganj, Beanibazar and parts of Sylhet city area.

Chhatak, Dowarabazar, Sunamganj Sadar, Derai, Madhyanagar, Bishwambarpur, Dharmapasha, Tahirpur, Jamalaganj and all of Sunamganj town are the worst affected in Sunamganj district.

Moreover, Ajmiriganj, Nabiganj, Habiganj Sadar upazila and Habiganj towns in the Habiganj district was hit by the flood yesterday. Heavy rains in Moulvibazar also inundated the district's low-lying areas.

Due to the flood situation, road communication with Sunamganj has been cut off from other parts of the country since Thursday. Also, road communication is cut off from the three upazilas of Sylhet with the divisional city. At the same time, all the flood-hit areas have been hit by severe power outages.

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Due to the lack of electricity, the mobile network collapsed in flood-affected areas. Thousands of people are not able to communicate with their stranded relatives. Mobile phones of most affected people are also out of charge and causing a serious issue as they are not able to contact anyone for help.

Facebook is also flooded with urges for rescue attempts and help posts to communicate with the family and relatives of thousands of stranded people.

"Our house in Sunamganj town flooded completely yesterday and my family took shelter at the nearby Water Development Board office. Since then, I am not being able to communicate with them as their phones are switched off," wrote Tabassum Talukder, a student residing in Sylhet city.

Rahman Rahi wrote, "Many people are stranded at home in Banglabazar area in Sunamganj's Chhatak, who are not finding boats to go to shelter centres or cannot contact anyone to be rescued."

"Bangladesh Army is deployed for rescue operations since yesterday while Bangladesh Navy is scheduled to join today. Local administration and council representatives are helping with rescue operations," said Sylhet divisional commissioner.

"As flood hit the division suddenly, relief was inadequate till yesterday. But as we have received more allocated relief, those will be sent to all flood-affected areas by today. At shelter centres, where it is possible, we will serve cooked food and where not possible, dry foods will be provided." he added.