C T Online Desk: Tens of thousands of people have been left stranded and without power as the monstrous wave of flood is ravaging Sylhet and Sunamganj districts with new areas going under water every day.
The flood-hit people were passing time amid great misery for lack of shelter, food and drinking water.
A power outage in the two districts caused by the flood has compounded their suffering.
The authorities concerned suspended power supply in Sylhet and Sunamganj to avoid accident after several grid substations were submerged by floodwater.
The power cut has led to an acute shortage of water in Sylhet city as pumps remained inoperative for lack of electricity.
Besides, mobile phone network was also not working properly while handset batteries ran out of charge, throwing the normal life into total disarray.
Floods are a common menace to lakhs of people in low-lying areas of the country but climate change is increasing their frequency, ferocity and unpredictability, according to expert.
The flood caused by heavy rainfall and water from Cherrapunji in India’s Meghalaya has marooned over 40 lakh people in different upazilas and towns of Sylhet and Sunamganj districts.
The low-lying areas of Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts were also going under water as the water level of major rivers kept rising.
All the upazilas of Sylhet and half of Sylhet city, and all upazilas and municipalities of Sunamganj have already been inundated.
Water entered Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital on Saturday noon whereby its power supply was cut off, disrupting services at the operation theatres and intensive care units.
Communications on Sylhet-Sunamganj highway and Sylhet-Bholaganj Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman highway have also been snapped as those have been submerged.
