Flood situation likely to worsen in north, north-eastern dists

Staff Reporter :
Flood situation in some north and north-eastern districts likely to worsen further as flood forecasting agencies have predicted that there are chances extremely heavy rain falls in the upstream next five days.

As a result, low-lying areas of Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat will be inundated by flood water within next 24 hours. Apart from it, the low-lying areas of Netrakona, Sunamganj and Sylhet have already submerged by flood water and the areas will further be deteriorated.

River waters of Surma at Sunamganj, Someswari at Kalmakanda and Oldsurma at Derai are flowing now above the danger level, while the Teesta water flow going up and down between the danger level.

Considering the flood forecasting agencies report, the people of Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Netrakona, Sunamganj and Sylhet will have to experience short-term flood.
However, water of the Someswari River is flowing now above the danger level at Kalmakanda. On the other hand, several upazilas including Tahirpur, Chaatak, Doara Bazar and Madhyanagar are getting flooded.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), fairly widespread to widespread, light to moderate rainfall with isolated Heavy to Very Heavy falls very likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Assam & Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur during next 5 days. Apart from it, there are chances of extremely heavy rain falls over Meghalaya, Sub-Himalaya West Bengal & Sikkim on July 3. Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely over Gangetic West Bengal on July 3 and Jharkhand on July 3 and 4, while over Odisha during July 5- 7, IMD bulletin said.

Water levels of all rivers in Sunamganj continue to rise due to incessant rains and onrush of upstream water, submerging low-lying areas of the district.
Some roads under several upazilas of the district went under water and many houses of low-lying areas have been inundated, causing huge suffering to several lakh residents of Sunamganj district.

At Chaatak upazila point, the water of Surma river has been flowing 133 cm above the danger level, while the Oldsurma water has exceeded 3 cm above the danger mark. Border upazila Doarabazar has submerged by flood water and the road communication with several unions has been snapped.
Road communication with Sunamganj has also been suspended due to rising water in several places including Shaktiarkhola, Durgapur on Sunamganj-Tahirpur road.
The people of the areas are being suffered and crossing roads by boat amid risk.

Water flooded some new areas such as Ibrahimpur, Notunpara, Sultanpur, Biswamvarpur and Tahirpur of Sunamganj Sadar upazila and several villages of Dowarabazar upazila. As a result, people living in haor and border areas of the district are anxious with the fear of floods.
Sunamganj Deputy Commissioner Didare Alam Mohammad Maksud Chowdhury said that the district and upazila administration of Sunamganj have made all kinds of preparations to deal with the flood. Residents of the district have been asked to take shelter in nearby schools in case of water entering their houses.
Executive Engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board in Sunamganj district Mamun Howladar said that there is a risk of heavy rain in the district for the next 48 hours.

“There is a risk of short-term flooding in the low-lying areas of the district. However, there is a chance of normal rainfall in India’s Cherrapunji, which may reduce the amount of rain,” he said.

According to Partho Protim Barua, Assistant Engineer of Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) under BWDB, river waters of the Teesta, Dharala and Dudhkumar will rise rapidly due to the chance of heavy rainfall in the adjoining upstream in the Northern region.
Besides, the Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers are in steady state, while the Ganges and the Padma rivers are in rising trend, he said adding that these rivers may rise in next 48 hours.

He further said that except Kushiyara, Manu-Khowai, major rivers in the North-Eastern region of the country are in rising trend, as a result, the ongoing flood situation in the Sunamganj and Netrakona district may deteriorate slightly in the next 24 hours.