Two of the country's major rivers, the Brahmaputra and the Padma, have started falling along with all the rivers of the northeastern and southeastern basins.

The Brahmaputra, which takes the name of the Jamuna at Jamalpur after entering Bangladesh from the state of Assam in northeastern India, may remain steady after rising for the past couple of days, while the Ganges-Padma may continue to rise in the next 24 hours. All the major rivers in the north-eastern region may continue sliding in the next 24 hours, thus improving the flood situation in Sylhet district, said the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) yesterday.

The Surma in Kanaighat, Sylhet, marked a fall of 40 cm yesterday. However, it is still flowing 43cm above the danger level.

The rain in Sylhet did not increase in the 24 hours until 6am yesterday, adding only marginally to the 62mm counted until 6am on Monday, according to Met Office records.

The country may experience its normal seasonal flooding with a rise in the water levels of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna, which would carry flood waters from Assam. In that case, there are reasons for apprehensions about the Jamuna creating trouble downstream in Bangladesh. “If the Jamuna rises, it'll be a serious concern. We've have reasons to be apprehensive because the rising river would also swell the Padma," Md Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, executive engineer of the FFWC, told The Independent yesterday.

Replying to a question, Bhuiyan said the country may go through its cycle of normal seasonal flooding sometime next month with heavy showers both at upstream and downstream.

Meanwhile, there were no further showers yesterday after heavy showers wreaked havoc in different parts of Dhaka city. The city recorded only 1 mm of rain at the Met Office in Agargaon till 6am. But overnight rain was reported by residents of other parts of the city, where the Met Office did not have any rain gauge.