Heavy rain inundates low-lying areas

Phulgazi Police Station in Feni is flooded with waist-deep water rushing through breaches on an embankment. Photo: Star

Torrential rain submerged different parts of Chittagong city yesterday, while the Muhuri and Kohuya rivers in spate breached a flood protection embankment in Phulgazi upazila of Feni, inundating 15 villages.

Several thousand people in low lying areas of Chittagong division have been marooned as those areas went under water. Water entered houses and submerged hundreds of acres of farmland.

The water level has increased in all major rivers in the country due to downpours in last couple of days.

Out of total 83 stations, the water level rose in 73 stations, including six flowing above danger level, while only eight marked a fall and two remained unchanged, said a bulletin of Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre.

“Active monsoon was causing torrential rain across the country which might ease from tomorrow [Sunday],” said a forecasting officer at Dhaka Met office.

Heavy to very heavy rainfalls are likely at places over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions today, he added.

All the maritime ports have been asked to hoist cautionary signal number three, meaning all the fishing boats should stay close to the coast.

An area of Demra in Dhaka is waterlogged following downpours over the last few days. Photo: Star

The Met office bulletin warned that landslides may occur at places in the hilly areas of Chittagong and Sylhet divisions under the influence of heavy rainfall.  
Our Chittagong office reports: Incessant rainfall since Thursday evening has led to water logging in many parts of the port city, causing immense suffering to city residents.

The city's Chawkbazar, Shulakbahar, Kapasgola, Urdu Goli, Katalganj, Badurtola, Bakalia, Bandartila, Navy Colony, East Katgar, Agrabad Excess Road,  Halishahar, Muradpur intersection and Sholoshahar Gate Number-2 intersection areas went under knee-deep to waist-deep water due to rains.

Sheikh Farid Ahmed of Chittagong Met office said downpours might continue in the Chittagong region till the next 24 hours as monsoon was still active there. The Chittagong river port has been asked to hoist signal number two.

Yesterday's highest rainfall was recorded in Teknaf, which was 177 millimetre in 15 hours till 3:00pm.

Visiting different areas in the port city in the morning, The Daily Star found that water had entered into houses, shops and other establishments.

Sabitri Das and her two children were waiting on KB Aman Ali Road. “We are going to our village home in Patiya upazila to attend a family programme. We've been waiting here for a CNG-run auto-rickshaw for about two hours, but in vain.”

Traffic was very thin on roads as only a few motorised vehicles plied the submerged streets. Commuters had to wait for long hours to catch a vehicle to reach their destinations.

In Feni, the flood protection embankment along the Muhuri and Kohuya rivers was breached on Thursday night and yesterday morning at Uttar Sripur, Daulatpur and Bairagyapur in Phulgazi, reports our correspondent.

A few thousand people have been marooned in the affected 15 villages of the upazila.

The main road of Phulgazi and the Feni-Parshuram road went under two-foot deep water, said Mahidur Rahman, the upazila nirbahi officer.

The Teesta at Dalia, the Khowai in Habiganj and at Ballah were flowing above their danger levels by 23cm, 120cm and 23cm while the Someswari at Durgapur, Muhuri at Parshuram and Halda at Narayanhat were flowing above their danger levels by 22cm, 25cm and 55cm.