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Extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by high tides and heavy wind lashed the entire coast of Bangladesh, leaving vast swathes of land swamped and claiming at least one tourist’s life in Cox’s Bazar.

Thousands of coastal inhabitants remained without electricity as the non-stop spell of heavy rainfall continued amid a forecast of it persisting through today with the low pressure over West Bengal remaining stationary amid an active monsoon.

Life came to a complete halt along the country’s coastal region on Tuesday, particularly in towns, where classes in educational institutions were suspended and people confined them to their houses due to the rough weather.

Rivers swelled rapidly as well and the Muhuri River in Feni was flowing above its danger mark, reported ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· correspondent in Feni.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said that the Muhuri River swelled 509 cm in six hours until 3:00pm, flowing one cm above the danger mark, while at 5:00pm, just in a matter of two hours, it was flowing 90cm above the danger mark.

The Selonia River was flowing 92cm above the danger mark at 5:00pm, the FFWC said.

The Belonia River, on the other hand, rose 532cm in eight hours until 5:00pm, flowing 26 cm above the danger mark, the FFWC said in its bulletin issued at 8:30pm, adding that the Muhuri and Selonia might keep flowing above their danger marks for the next 12 hours.Ìý

Swelling rivers caused stretches of erosion along the banks of important inland rivers such as the Padma, prompting authorities to suspend launch services on at least eight routes.

In the 24 hours until 6:00pm on Tuesday, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said that Feni recorded 440mm of rainfall, which was record rain so far this monsoon.

‘I waded through knee-deep water to attend my exam,’ said Raisa Akter, a resident of Academy area in Feni, who attended her national university exam in soaked clothes.

Large parts of Feni suffered power outage since morning on Tuesday, with residents of the district also complaining about interrupted mobile phone network.

Feni suffered a devastating flood past year, which was caused by onrush of water from the upstream in India. Many embankments in the district, which have been in a bad shape since past year’s flood, remained vulnerable to breaches.Ìý

¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· correspondent in Patuakhali reported that parts of the town remained under knee-deep water following 241.4mm of rainfall in the 24 hours until 3:00pm on Tuesday. This was the second highest-ever rainfall. The highest rainfall of 251.8mm was recorded on July 27, 2021.

Rains continuing since Monday night flooded major roads and low-lying areas in Patuakhali, inundating homes and shops and forcing authorities to suspend classes and exams for the day.

‘I went to my shop in the morning to find it under water. My television set and fan were damaged,’ said Sumon, a small trader.Ìý

Most rickshaws and vehicles remained off the roads, with daily wage earners and transport workers struggling for their daily livelihood.

Meanwhile, the Bay of Bengal along Kuakata remained rough, with strong winds sweeping the coastal areas.

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¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· correspondent in Noakhali reported that many roads and houses were inundated due to continued rainfall.

‘The wet spell is likely to continue more or less the same tomorrow,’ said Kazi Zebunnesa, a BMD meteorologist.

The BMD predicted rain over most places in all but one district in Bangladesh, including Dhaka.

In the 24 hours until 6:00pm, Rangamati recorded 225 mm of rainfall, followed by Maizdi Court recording 189 mm, Bhola 154 mm, Sandwip 166 mm, and Hatiya 144 mm. Dhaka recorded 24 mm of rainfall.

¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· correspondent in Shariatpur reported severe erosion along the Padma River at Jajira of Shariatpur, washing away 20 houses and shops. The erosion was taking place along an embankment that was built to protect the Padma Bridge.

‘I saw some houses getting washed away by the river,’ said Akbar, a boatman, who went to the erosion-hit area around 4:30pm.

People scrambled to save what they could from their houses at risk of being devoured by the river. More hands could have saved more property.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Center on Tuesday said that rivers in southeast Bangladesh such as the Feni, Muhuri, Halda, Sangu, and Matamuhuri might keep rising through today and they might remain at the same level over the next two days.

Rivers in the Brahmaputra basin might keep swelling over the next three days while rivers in the Ganges basin might keep rising over the next five days, the FFWC said in its Tuesday afternoon bulletin.

High tide is also likely to continue through today, the FFWC said.

The BMD warned about potential landslides in Chattogram division. Temporary waterlogging might occur in Dhaka, Chattogram and Khulna metropolitan areas.

All fishing boats and trawlers were asked to remain close to the shore and move with caution. All four maritime ports have been asked to keep hoisting signal number 3.