A deep convection has developed in the Bay of Bengal, causing the sea to turn choppy with squally winds blowing. This has prompted the Meteorological Department to ask all four maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra to raise the local cautionary warning signal number three from yesterday (Friday) afternoon.
Fishing boats and trawlers have been asked to move close to the coast, negotiating the sea cautiously until further orders, the Met Office said. Heavy rain is likely in all divisions of the country during the next 24 hours, beginning at 2-30pm yesterday. The Kangsha, fed by rain in the Garo Hills at Jariajanjail in Durgapur, and the Dhaleshwari at Elasin inTangail are rising. The two rivers are flowing near their danger marks threatening to overflow their banks.
The Ganges continues to rise, nearing its danger mark at Pankha, where it enters Bangladesh in Chapainawabganj district. Its rise has been steady for the past few days, raising the spectre of it overflowing its banks, Ripon Karmakar, a flood forecasting and warning centre official of the Water Development Board, said yesterday.
It depends on the amount of rainfall upstream of the river, he added. The Brahmaputra has been falling slowly, but increased rainfall could reverse this trend. The river is flowing slightly below the danger level at Bahadurabad in Jamalpur and Sariakandi in Bogra, the official said.