Rising Jamuna worries flood watchers

A swelling Brahmaputra at its upstream is pushing up the Jamuna downstream. The river threatens to cross the danger level (DL) in the four northern districts of Kurigram, Jamalpur, Sirajganj and Bogra within the next two days, flood watchers said yesterday (Thursday).

If the rate at which the Brahmaputra is rising at its entry point at Noonkhawa in northern Bangladesh and Chilmari of Kurigram, continues for the next two days, the river, that takes on the name of Jamuna further downstream, may cross the DL, menacing Bahadurabad, Sariakandi in Bogra and Sirajganj, Sazzad Hossain, executive engineer of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), told The Independent yesterday.

Already, the flood plains or water bodies and low-lying areas have been filled up following heavy rain for the past few days and intrusion of rising waters of the Jamuna, posing a serious threat of floods, he said. "We need to keep watching the mood and flow of the Jamuna, one of the world's most vicious rivers that slices through or spills over its banks every monsoon", he added.

Reports of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) indicate more rain ahead, ranging from drizzles to heavy and very heavy, from Thursday night, Friday onwards until Wednesday. Although the intensity would not be as high as it was last week, the rain would continue till mid-July. It would then turn severe, continuing for days, as the monsoon becomes active over the country and highly active over the Bay of Bengal, prodded by a seasonal low pressure that may turn into a depression as the forecast suggests, Abul Kalm Mallick, a monsoon watcher of the BMD, said.

International forecasts, including those by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), suggest that the monsoon activity, spreading across Bangladesh to north-eastern India, may spur rivers like the Brahmaputra, Barak and the Teesta  to rise upstream. This may cause havoc downstream in the northern plains of Bangladesh.

Already the Brahmaputra-Jamuna is on the rise and is expected to rise further in the next 48 hours.

The twin flows of the Barak, the Surma and the Kushiyara, are already in spate, crossing their banks and flooding parts of Sylhet and Maulvibazar districts. However, FFWC projections showed that the two are likely to recede in the next 24 hours.

Rising Jamuna worries flood watchers

A swelling Brahmaputra at its upstream is pushing up the Jamuna downstream. The river threatens to cross the danger level (DL) in the four northern districts of Kurigram, Jamalpur, Sirajganj and Bogra within the next two days, flood watchers said yesterday (Thursday). If the rate at which the Brahmaputra is rising at its entry point at Noonkhawa in northern Bangladesh and Chilmari of Kurigram, continues for the next two days, the river, that takes on the name of Jamuna further downstream, may cross the DL, menacing Bahadurabad, Sariakandi in Bogra and Sirajganj, Sazzad Hossain, executive engineer of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), told The Independent yesterday. Already, the flood plains or water bodies and low-lying areas have been filled up following heavy rain for the past few days and intrusion of rising waters of the Jamuna, posing a serious threat of floods, he said. We need to keep watching the mood and flow of the Jamuna, one of the worlds most vicious rivers that slices through or spills over its banks every monsoon, he added. Reports of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) indicate more rain ahead, ranging from drizzles to heavy and very heavy, from Thursday night, Friday onwards until Wednesday. Although the intensity would not be as high as it was last week, the rain would continue till mid-July. It would then turn severe, continuing for days, as the monsoon becomes active over the country and highly active over the Bay of Bengal, prodded by a seasonal low pressure that may turn into a depression as the forecast suggests, Abul Kalm Mallick, a monsoon watcher of the BMD, said. International forecasts, including those by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), suggest that the monsoon activity, spreading across Bangladesh to north-eastern India, may spur rivers like the Brahmaputra, Barak and the Teesta to rise upstream. This may cause havoc downstream in the northern plains of Bangladesh. Already the Brahmaputra-Jamuna is on the rise and is expected to rise further in the next 48 hours. The twin flows of the Barak, the Surma and the Kushiyara, are already in spate, crossing their banks and flooding parts of Sylhet and Maulvibazar districts. However, FFWC projections showed that the two are likely to recede in the next 24 hours.