Rain-induced floods engulf a dozen districts in Bangladesh

Heavy rain has deteriorated the flood situation inundating fresh areas in over a dozen districts of the North and the Northeast.

A few lakh people in those regions were suffering due to lack of fresh water and food. Some families were in trouble with their cattle and poultry while many farmers saw their crops getting destroyed.

The floods snapped road communication, eroded embankments and disrupted school activities in some areas. Some schools went under water and a few were devoured by rivers. 

The Met office said the country had already had over 40 percent above the usual rain in the monsoon and it feared more was to come from Friday next, worsening the situation. 

The flood forecasting and warning centre said low-lying and char areas were inundated afresh as water levels of major rivers were above their danger marks.

As the water level of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna were rising, many areas in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Bogra, Jamalpur and Sirajganj went under water, official sources in the Water Development Board (WDB) said.

Heavy rain over the last two days flooded many places along the Jamuna and Bangalee rivers including areas under Shariakandi, Sonatola and Dhunat upazilas of Bogra.

Local upazila administrations said over 3,000 hectares of crop land were damaged and 97 primary schools were inundated. Several high schools and madrasas were flooded as well.

Bangalee Debdanga Masirpara Govt Primary School under Shariakandi upazila went into the river yesterday.

Over one lakh people of river-adjacent chars and low-lying areas of Kurigram have been marooned in the last three days while thousands of Aman paddy fields were destroyed.

An executive engineer of WDB said the Jamuna was eroding around five kilometres of the bank at Belgachha in Islampur upazila and 3.2 kilometres in Basuria of Sarishabari upazila. 

Meanwhile, thousands in Sylhet, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, and Sunamganj have been marooned as flash flood hit several parts of the Sylhet division due to heavy rain and the rush of water from the hills beyond the border.

In Sunamganj, heavy rain and upstream water triggered flash floods even in the district headquarters.

The Surma was flowing 37cm above the danger level in Sholaghar. The WDB had recorded 125mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours.

In Sylhet, the flood situation in Guainghat upazila worsened. The situation in Jaintapur and Kanaighat upazilas, however, remained unchanged.

Abdul Alim, 58, of Lakhipur in Duarabazar upazila, said the flooding started in the last two days. “Water from the Surma started to enter our home from Saturday evening,” he said.

Mamun Hawlader, deputy-divisional engineer of WDB, Sylhet, said floodwater submerged around 50 villages in Sylhet.

Guainghat upazila chairman Abdul Hakim Chowdhury said road communication between five unions and the upazila was snapped due to the floods.

Several schools had gone under water.

Dykes in Nayeakhel, Bhittikhel,Thubang, Baladara and Shurkhel had eroded and flooded nearly 40 villages. About 30,000 families now fear losing their crops.

The Meghna inundated low-lying areas of Chandpur sadar, Haimchar, and Matlab, where around 50,000 people have been marooned.

Our Jamalpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogra, Moulvibazar, Chandpur correspondent contributed to this report.