C T Online Desk: Four more killed, Surma flows at record high level, warning of landslide in hilly areas, south-east rivers may rapidly rise, flood unlikely to recede before next Sunday

Low-lying areas in central Bangladesh were inundated by floodwaters on Monday while the flooding engulfed more areas in the northern and north-eastern regions of the country, affecting thousands more of people.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre on the day warned that rivers in the country’s south-eastern region could rapidly swell today due to heavy rain.

Besides, the likelihood of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the hilly regions of Chattogram as well as Sylhet prompted a 24-hour landslide warning in both the regions until 5:00pm today.

‘Floodwaters will not recede before next Sunday,’ said Arifuzzaman Bhuyan, who heads the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center.

However, the flood will not spread further in the central region and there is no chance of Dhaka going under floodwaters this time, said Arif.

While all the major rivers swelled on Monday, the Surma continued to flow at a record-high level at Derai in Sunamganj for the third consecutive day on Monday with its water level still rising.

On Monday, the Surma flowed at 7.6 metres, above the previous maximum water level of 7.29 metres, showed data provided by the flood warning centre.

‘The flood situation in Sylhet and Sunamganj remained almost unchanged but worsened in Moulvibazar and Habiganj,’ said Muhammad Mosharrof Hossain, divisional commissioner, Sylhet.

The situation was also deteriorating fast in Netrakona, where more than 88,000 people took refuge in flood shelters between Sunday and Monday.

The total number of sheltered people in Sylhet division climbed to 4.46 lakhs on Monday, according to the office of the divisional commissioner.

Sylhet and Sunamganj districts still remained mostly without power and cut-off from road communication.

There is no way of knowing how life was for those who could not make it to any of the limited number of flood shelters set up by the government as their phones ran out of charge as early as Staurday.

The New Age correspondent in Lalmonirhat reported that an estimated 1.5 lakh people in Kurigram driven out of home by floods were living on roads and embankments as there were only 13 flood shelters opened the district.

Floods left an estimated 2.5 lakh people stranded in Kurigram.

‘We are planning to open more flood shelters soon,’ said Rezaul Karim, deputy commissioner, Kurigram.

At least three people were crushed to death under their houses in Kurigram on Monday and a man was killed in Lalmonirhat in the same way.

The deceased in Kurigram have been identified as Omor Ali, 61, Rabeya, 57, and Afil Miah, 57, of different areas and in Lalmonirhat as Quddus, 58.

The mighty Brahmaputra, the Dharla, the Jamuna and the Ghaghat were flowing above their danger levels, by up to more than one metre amid continued heavy rains in river catchments.

Sixty-one houses were washed away while five embankments collapsed in Rangpur division on Monday, authorities said.

A severe crisis of food and drinking water was reported in the flood affected areas.

Sajib Kanti Rudro, district relief and rehabilitation officer, Feni, confirmed the collapse of three embankments in Fulgazi upazila, leading to inundation of five villages and affecting 3,000 people.

The embankments gave in following an abnormal rise in the water level of the Muhuri River, which swelled by more than three metres in the 24-hour reporting period until 9:00am on Monday.

According to the FFWC daily flood bulletin on Monday, nine major rivers are flowing above the danger mark at 19 points in nine districts.

The rivers flowing over the danger limit are the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Ghaghat, Jamuna, Someshwari, Surma, Kushiyara, Khowai and the old Surma.

The flood warning centre warned that major rivers may keep swelling through the next 48 hours following heavy rain in the upstream.

The India Meteorological Department predicted widespread rain, with heavy falls in north-east India, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal over the next five days.

In the 24-hour reporting period until 9:00am Bangladesh time on Monday, the IMD reported that Tripura reported 570 per cent of above-normal rain, followed by Sikkim with 200 per cent, Arunachal Pradesh with 52 per cent, Bihar with 38 per cent, and Assam with 21 per cent.

Bangladesh continued to see extreme rain as in upstream across the border, with the flood warning centre recording 242 mm downpour in Chattogram, in the 24-hour reporting period, followed by Parshuram with 175 mm, and Teknaf with 146 mm.

According to an FFWC forecast, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogura, Sirajganj, Jamalpur and Tangail may see flood situation worsen today.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department predicted rain almost all over the country today, with heavy to very heavy falls at some places of Rangpur, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Barishal, Khulna and Chattogram divisions.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to visit the flood-affected district of Sylhet on Tuesday to inspect the overall situation.