More areas face flood risk

Floods continued to ravage 11 districts in the northern and north-eastern regions and threaten more in the central region, as the water level of the Ganga-Padma system continued to rise. It may submerge low-lying areas of Munshiganj district any time, sources with the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said yesterday. The situation in some low-lying areas along the Brahmaputra-Jamuna system in Kurigram, Jamalpur, Bogra, and Sirajganj, and the districts of Rajbari, Manikganj and Munshiganj, may deteriorate in the next 48 hours, the FFWC has warned. If the rivers continue to rise, the districts of Sylhet, Brahmanbaria, and Natore may face floods, too. They have already been warned, sources said. Floods have already wreaked havoc on the lives of people living along major river basins like the Brahmaputra, Ganga-Padma, Teesta, and Surma-Kushiyara for more than a week. Ripon Karmaker of the FFWC warned that unless rainfall ceases upstream in India, the rivers may swell further, worsening the situation downstream in Bangladesh. It may turn disastrous if the Brahmaputra continues to rise even after completing its normal cycle of flooding in July. It also has to be remembered that the Ganga-Padma system normally rises in early August. However, quoting the forecast of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for the next five days, Karmaker said there was some hope. According to the IMD, rainfall may slow down upstream over the next three to four days.
That coincides with the Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecast that rainfall may decline in the next three days. The water levels of both the Brahmaputra and the Ganga may start going down, Karmaker reported. The FFWC forecast added that the Brahmaputra-Jamuna, the Ganga-Padma, and the Surma-Kushiyara systems are still rising. The Brahmaputra-Jamuna may keep rising in the next 48 hours. However, the Surma-Kushiyara system water level may start falling after that.
The worst affected by the floods is Sunamganj in the north-eastern part. It sits right at the foot of the hills of the Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya. Rainwaters pushed a swollen Surma from 77cm to 89cm above the danger level in six hours. Thousands have been trapped by the floodwaters for a week, with food, drinking water, and cattle fodder running low. The rising Surma made the huge ‘haors’ (wetlands) swell, too, worsening the situation even further and cutting off road links in several upazilas. In the northern districts, thousands are marooned, facing an acute shortage of food, water, and shelter, and being stalked by water-borne diseases. Disaster management and relief minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya said the government has already sent adequate relief materials for the marooned people in the 11 northern districts. Relief includes 2,300 tonnes of rice, dry food worth Tk. 45 lakh, and 4,000 cartons of other materials, the minister said at a workshop on cyclone preparedness and risk mitigation at a city hotel yesterday.

More areas face flood risk

Floods continued to ravage 11 districts in the northern and north-eastern regions and threaten more in the central region, as the water level of the Ganga-Padma system continued to rise. It may submerge low-lying areas of Munshiganj district any time, sources with the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said yesterday. The situation in some low-lying areas along the Brahmaputra-Jamuna system in Kurigram, Jamalpur, Bogra, and Sirajganj, and the districts of Rajbari, Manikganj and Munshiganj, may deteriorate in the next 48 hours, the FFWC has warned. If the rivers continue to rise, the districts of Sylhet, Brahmanbaria, and Natore may face floods, too. They have already been warned, sources said. Floods have already wreaked havoc on the lives of people living along major river basins like the Brahmaputra, Ganga-Padma, Teesta, and Surma-Kushiyara for more than a week. Ripon Karmaker of the FFWC warned that unless rainfall ceases upstream in India, the rivers may swell further, worsening the situation downstream in Bangladesh. It may turn disastrous if the Brahmaputra continues to rise even after completing its normal cycle of flooding in July. It also has to be remembered that the Ganga-Padma system normally rises in early August. However, quoting the forecast of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for the next five days, Karmaker said there was some hope. According to the IMD, rainfall may slow down upstream over the next three to four days. That coincides with the Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecast that rainfall may decline in the next three days. The water levels of both the Brahmaputra and the Ganga may start going down, Karmaker reported. The FFWC forecast added that the Brahmaputra-Jamuna, the Ganga-Padma, and the Surma-Kushiyara systems are still rising. The Brahmaputra-Jamuna may keep rising in the next 48 hours. However, the Surma-Kushiyara system water level may start falling after that. The worst affected by the floods is Sunamganj in the north-eastern part. It sits right at the foot of the hills of the Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya. Rainwaters pushed a swollen Surma from 77cm to 89cm above the danger level in six hours. Thousands have been trapped by the floodwaters for a week, with food, drinking water, and cattle fodder running low. The rising Surma made the huge haors (wetlands) swell, too, worsening the situation even further and cutting off road links in several upazilas. In the northern districts, thousands are marooned, facing an acute shortage of food, water, and shelter, and being stalked by water-borne diseases. Disaster management and relief minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya said the government has already sent adequate relief materials for the marooned people in the 11 northern districts. Relief includes 2,300 tonnes of rice, dry food worth Tk. 45 lakh, and 4,000 cartons of other materials, the minister said at a workshop on cyclone preparedness and risk mitigation at a city hotel yesterday.