More villages were inundated on Thursday as flash floods and water stagnation gripped vast swathes of the coastal belt, including major coastal towns and cities, with torrential rain continuing over most of Bangladesh for the fourth consecutive day.
Flood victims said that they had not been given any relief from the authorities so far though the number of people in the shelter centres increased sharply.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said that the situation would improve as the intensity of rainfall decreased.
Department of Disaster Management director general Razwanur Rahman said that several thousand people of different costal districts, including Noakhali, Barishal, Patuakhali and Khagrachari, had been suffering due to flash floods.
He said that Fulgazi, Parshuram and Chhagalnaiya upazilas of Feni and Dighinala upazila of Khagrachari were the worst hit by the flash floods.
鈥楢t least 2,255 families from Feni took shelter at different centres as the government allocated 120 tonnes of rice and 1,200 packets of dry food for the victims,鈥� he said.
BMD鈥檚 meteorologist Md Bazlur Rashid said that the intensity of rain decreased across the country on Thursday compared with that in the previous day.
鈥楾he intensity of rainfall will drop further tomorrow,鈥� he said, adding that once rainfall reduced, the situation would improve.
In the past six hours till 3:00pm Thursday, the BMD recorded 21 millimetres of rain in Feni.
According to a Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre report, the water level of the River Selonia was over the danger level in Feni.
In the coming 72 hours the situation might improve at the River Muhuri and the River Selonia.
The interim government鈥檚 advisory council at a meeting on Thursday took stock of the flood and water stagnation situation in Feni and Noakhali districts.
The meeting was held at the Chief Adviser鈥檚 Office at Tejgaon in the capital Dhaka with chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in the chair.
At the meeting, advisers from the ministries concerned presented their opinions and actions they had taken regarding the ongoing flood in the two districts, said a press release issued by the chief adviser鈥檚 press wing.
The meeting discussed the need for finalising the design of the Musapur regulator and the Bamni closure in Noakhali by the water resources ministry, finalising the permanent dam construction project in Feni and opening the canals and drainage in Noakhali.
The advisory council was informed that works of repairing the damaged dams, riverbank protection and water control infrastructure in these two districts were underway with the funding of the World Bank, aiming to address disasters.
A detailed discussion was also held at the meeting on the measures taken so far by the relief and rehabilitation ministry and the local administration in the ongoing flood and water stagnation situation in the districts.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Feni reported that two upazilas, Chhagalnaiya and Sadar, were newly flooded, which marooned several thousand families.
Chhagalnaiya upazila nirbahi officer Subal Chakma said that 12 new villages under the upazila were inundated on Thursday.
Rokhsana Akter, a resident of Feni鈥檚 Fulgazi upazila, complained that though they came to shelter centres a day back, but they were yet to receive any relief.
However, the Bangladesh Army and other agencies were conducting rescue operations and providing food relief in the areas.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Khagrachari reported that for continuous rainfall over the past four days, people were at risk of landslides at nine upazilas of the districts.
Road communications through Dikhinala and Langdu road between Rangamati and Khagrachhari remained suspended as the road suffered damage.
Zila Parishad chairman Shefalika Tripura said that they had arranged a sufficient number of shelter centres and requested people to come to the centres.
Khagrachari deputy commissioner ABM Iftekharul Islam Khandoker said that they had strengthened monitoring over the areas highly prone to landslides to ensure that people left the areas.
Our Noakhali correspondent reported that as flood situation remained unchanged, the closure of the primary and secondary educational institutions was extended till Saturday.
