A heavy downpour and onrush of water from upstream India resulted in an increase in flooding in the Sylhet region on Thursday, marooning more than five lakh people.
Public representatives and officials said that most low-lying areas of five upazilas鈥擥owainghat, Jaintapur, Kanaighat, Companiganj, and Jakiganj鈥攚ere marooned by floodwater by 3:00pm on Thursday.
Several major rivers in the country鈥檚 north-eastern region, including the Surma and the Kushiyara, are rising, which could continue in the next 48 hours, according to the Bangladesh Water Development Board鈥檚 Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre.聽
鈥楾he flash flood may deteriorate in Sylhet district for the next 24 hours. The cyclonic storm and heavy rainfall triggered a flash flood in the area,鈥� said FFWC executive engineer Sardar Uday Raihan.
He said that if the rainfall in both Sylhet and upstream India got reduced, the situation might improve after two days.
Gowainghat upazila nirbahi officer Touhidul Islam said that they had taken 2,356 people and 645 animals to the cyclone shelters out of over 2,45,000 marooned people from 42,900 affected families.
鈥榃e have prepared 400 boats to take marooned people to shelters,鈥� he added.
The UNO said that they had allocated 63 tonnes of rice and 200 packets of dry food for the flood-affected people.
WDB recorded 355mm of rainfall at Jaflong in Gowainghat and 79mm of rainfall at Kanaighat upazila of the district in 24 hours, ending 9:00am on Thursday.聽
According to the Sylhet office of WDB, the river Surma was flowing 144cm above the danger level at Kanaighat at 3:00pm while the river Sarigoain was flowing 41cm above Sarighat in Jaintapur upazila.
The river Kushiyara was flowing 200cm above the danger point at Amalshid at noon.
Jaintapur upazila parishad chairman Liaquat Ali said that about 75 per cent of the upazila, except the hilly areas, have already been flooded.
He said that some houses went under chest-deep water in some areas, trapping more than 1 lakh people in the upazila.
Liaquat said that residents of different villages of the upazila made appeals for support on their Facebook timelines on early Thursday as the flood water submerged their houses, but it became difficult to rescue them due to the strong water flow amid darkness.
Although rice has been allocated, there is a severe shortage of dry places for cooking food. We are trying our best to provide dry food in the flood-affected areas,鈥� the upazila chairman said.
Jakiganj upazila chairman Lokman Hossain Chowdhury told 抖阴精品 on Thursday afternoon that more than 50,000 people from different parts of the upazila were trapped in floodwater.
Sylhet additional deputy commissioner (general) Mohammad Mobarak Hossain said that they had opened 215 flood shelters in five affected upazilas of the district.
He said that the upazila administrations concerned were conducting rescue operations with the help of local people.
鈥楢rmy has already visited the spots. If necessary, they will also join the rescue operation.鈥� he added.
On Thursday afternoon, Companiganj upazila nirbahi officer Sunjit Kumar Chanda issued a notification saying that all tourist spots, including the Sadapathar Tourist Spot, at the upazila would remain closed to visitors until further notice.
It said that the tourist spots became risky due to the continuous rise of the water in the river Dhalai following an onrush of hilly water and incessant rain for three days.
People in hoar areas of Sunamganj district cut embankments so that the onrushing upstream water could pass through.聽
鈥業f the rain continues in the upstream areas for the next two or three days, a flood situation may occur in Sunamganj district as well,鈥� said WDB Sunamganj district sub-divisional engineer Pritom Pal.
Earlier on Wednesday, several hundred families became stranded in Kulaura and Kamalganj of Moulvibazar after a flash flood hit 20 villages, inundating agricultural land.
The flash flood was triggered by two days of downpours in Sylhet, which recorded 303mm of rainfall in the 24 hours on Tuesday. Another 62mm of rainfall was recorded in Sylhet on Wednesday.
The Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) restored power to 97 per cent of its customers following Cyclone Remal, which made landfall in Bangladesh on May 26 and battered the coastal areas, killing at least 31 people.
Power supply was restored for 100 per cent of clients of West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd until noon Thursday, United News of Bangladesh reported.
On the day, prime minister Sheikh Hasina visited Patuakhali district to see the condition of the people in cyclone-affected areas.
The Department of Agricultural Extension estimated in its primary report that 1,71,109 hectares of cropland out of 14,30,065 hectares were affected by the cyclone and rain in 48 districts between May 26 and May 27.
Barishal, Pirojpur, Jhalakati, Patuakhali, Barguna, Bhola, Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira Narail, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, and Cox鈥檚 Bazar were the 13 worst affected districts.
Sylhet recorded 75 millimetres of rainfall, while Srimangal in Moulvibazar recorded 122mm rainfall in the past 24 hours ending 6:00pm on Thursday, according to the latest weather bulletin of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
