flood
Flood situation worsens in Kurigram, over 2 lakh affected
The flood situation in Kurigram district deteriorated further on Tuesday due to the swelling of major rivers caused by an onrush of water from the hills and incessant showers, rendering over two lakh people homeless.
According to the local Water Development Board, the Brahmaputra river has been flowing 55cm and 23cm above the danger mark at Chilmari and Nunkhaoya points, respectively, while the Dharla river has been flowing 42cm above the red level at Setu point in the past 24 hours.
The flood situation in Kurigram may worsen further, said Abdullah Al Mamun, executive engineer of Kurigram Water Development Board.
Read: Flood situation remains grim across country
According to health department sources, two children drowned in Rowmari and Ulipur upazilas, respectively, on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Maksuda Jannat, 11, daughter of Maidul Islam of Jamuna Sarkarpara village in Ulipur upazila, and Khalilur Rahman, one-and-a-half year-old son of Khalilur Rahman of Jadur Char union in Roumari upazila.
Grameenphone customers in flood-hit Sylhet get 10-minute free talk-time
With the devastating flood in the country's northern and north-east still threatening millions of lives and livelihoods, Grameenphone customers, stuck in the affected areas of Sylhet can now avail of 10 minutes of free talk-time.
The telecom operator already disbursed 10-minute free talk-time with three days validity to all its customers in the flood-affected areas in Sylhet.
During these challenging times, the need for immediate connectivity is paramount but customers face difficulty recharging due to the flood and incessant downpour.
Read Hans Martin new Grameenphone chief corporate affairs officer
"It is our moral responsibility to assist those who are stranded and stand by the nation during these times of dire need. We understand our customers' urgent connectivity needs to reach out for any assistance. We are closely monitoring the situation on the field and will remain vigilant going forward to provide connectivity support," said Mohammad Sajjad Hasib, chief marketing officer of Grameenphone.
The flood condition has now been persisting for the past four to five days, with at least 40 lakh people stranded and stuck helpless.
Mobile network and internet connectivity services also had to be compromised in the region due to water logging and electricity failure.
Also read: Grameenphone observes Green Week 2022
However, in collaboration with the Posts and Telecommunications Division, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, Bangladesh Army and other stakeholders, Grameenphone is working continuously to overcome the crisis and restore mobile services in the flood-affected region in the earliest alongside exploring alternative feasible solutions to enable the nation to fight the calamity.
Flood victims cry for relief amid govt’s inaction: BNP
BNP senior joint secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday alleged that the flood-affected people in the country’s northeast region, mainly hoar areas, are crying for relief amid the government’s inaction to mitigate their miseries.
Speaking at a token sit-in programme, he also blamed the government’s unplanned construction of dams and a road in the haor region for the severe flood in Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrokona.
“The hoar people of Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrokona are crying for rice and food. Where will they get food as everything around them has been submerged? How will the food reach them? ” the BNP leader asked.
He bemoaned that government has allocated only Tk1.5 for each of the 50 lakh flood-hit people of the country while Indian artist Mimi Chakraborty was brought to Bangladesh at the cost Tk three crore.
Read: BNP demands declaring flood-hit areas as disaster zones
Stating the government is responsible for the flood, Rizvi said, “You (PM) will now see the Padma Bridge in the colourful light and hang onto power with joy in your heart keeping people hungry, starving and inundated. The country’s people will no longer accept and tolerate it.”
Ganatantra Forum arranged the programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club, demanding the release of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and adequate relief for the flood-affected people.
Rizvi questioned whether the prime minister tried to know standing in front of a mirror the reason behind the untimely flood in the haor region. “We know that relatives of one of the influential officials of the state built dams and a road, known as the President’s one, in an unplanned way in the haor areas.”
For this unplanned construction of the dams and roads, he said 50-60 lakh people have now been stranded in floodwaters.
Read: Cancel Padma Bridge grand opening; instead stand by flood victims, BNP urges govt
"The whole of Sylhet and Sunamganj have gone under water, but you (Prime Minister) are overwhelmed with the joy over the Padma Bridge. You are joking with people about Padma Bridge,” he observed.
Rizvi also criticised the government for its move to shut down stores and shopping malls after 8 pm since it has long been claiming to have the capacity of providing an uninterrupted electricity supply. “Why are you ordering to close shops and malls after 8 pm? Where did your uninterrupted power go? ”
He said the government takes every move and makes laws and rules only to ensure the benefit of the ruling party leaders and create scope for them to make money.
South Asia floods hampering access to food, clean water
Days of flooding are challenging authorities Monday in South Asia as they try to deliver food and drinking water to shelters across submerged swaths of India and Bangladesh.
The high water brought on by seasonal monsoon downpours has already claimed more than a dozen lives, displaced hundreds of thousands and flooded millions of homes.
Bangladesh called in soldiers Friday to help evacuate people, and Ekattor TV station said millions remained without electricity.
Enamur Rahman, junior minister for disaster and relief, said that up to 100,000 people have been evacuated in the worst-hit Sunamganj and Sylhet districts, and about 4 million people have been marooned in the area, the United News of Bangladesh agency said.
Flooding also continued to ravage India’s northeastern Assam where two policemen engaged in rescue operations were washed away by floodwaters Sunday, an official in the state capital Gauhati said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Monday his administration was in the process of airlifting food and fuel by military helicopters to some parts of the state that were badly affected.
Officials said nearly 200,000 people were taking shelter in 700 relief camps. Water levels in all major rivers across the state were flowing above danger levels.
Assam has been reeling from massive floods after heavy torrential rains over the past few weeks made the Brahmaputra River break its banks, leaving millions of homes underwater and severing transport links.
Read: Sylhet: A city tries to cope with its worst flood in living memory
The Brahmaputra flows from China’s Tibet through India and into Bangladesh on a nearly 800-kilometer (500-mile) journey through Assam.
Major roads in Bangladesh have been submerged, leaving people stranded. In the country that has a history of climate change-induced disasters, many expressed their frustration that authorities haven’t done more locally.
“There isn’t much to say about the situation. You can see the water with your own eyes. Water level inside the room has dropped a bit. It used to be up to my waist,” said Muhit Ahmed, owner of a grocery shop in Sylhet.
“All in all, we are in a great disaster. Neither the Sylhet City Corporation nor anyone else came here to inquire about us,” he said. “I am trying to save my belongings as much as I can. We don’t have the ability to do any more now.”
In the latest statement Sunday from the country’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Center in the nation’s capital, Dhaka, said that flooding in the northeastern districts of Sunamganj and Sylhet could worsen further in next 24 hours. It said the Teesta, a major river in the northern Bangladesh, may flow above danger. The situation could also deteriorate in the country’s northern districts of Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Bogra, Jamalpur and Sirajganj, it said.
Officials said water has started receding already from the northeastern region but is posing a threat to the country’s central region, the pathway for flood waters to reach the Bay of Bengal in the south.
Read: Sylhet: A city tries to cope with its worst flood in living memory
Media reports said those affected by flooding in remote areas are struggling to access drinking water and food.
Arinjoy Dhar, a senior director of the nonprofit developmental organization BRAC, asked for help ensuring food for the flood-affected in a video posted online.
Dhar said they opened a center Monday to prepare food items as part of a plan to feed 5,000 families in Sunamganj district, but the arrangement was not enough.
BRAC said they alone were trying to reach out to about 52,000 families with emergency supplies.
Last month, a pre-monsoon flash flood triggered by a rush of water from upstream in India’s northeastern states hit Bangladesh’s northern and northeastern regions, destroying crops and damaging homes and roads.
Bangladesh, a nation of 160 million people, is low-lying and faces threats from natural disasters such as floods and cyclones, made worse by climate change. According to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, about 17% of people in Bangladesh would need to be relocated over the next decade or so if global warming persists at the present rate.
Bangabandhu satellite-1 to be used to restore telecommunication in flood-hit areas
The government has started the connection work of Bangabandhu Satellite-1 to keep telecommunication and internet services active in the flood affected areas on Sunday.
Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) has set up a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Hub in Sylhet Hi-Tech Park following the directives of Post and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar.
To ensure telecommunication services in the flood-affected areas of Sylhet and Sunamganj districts, 12 VSAT equipment were handed over to the Bangladesh Army on Saturday. VSAT hubs will be set up in Netrokona and North Bengal today.
Read: Floods: India extends "support, solidarity" to Bangladesh
Besides, preparations are underway to hand over 23 more sets of VSAT equipment to the Sylhet Divisional Commissioner office.
Bangabandhu Satellite-1 will also be able to activate the mobile phone network as per the requirement of mobile phone operators.
The Post and Telecommunications Division has also launched 12 toll-free helpline numbers for the flood-affected people.
The toll free numbers are- Grameenphone -01769177266, 01769177267, 01769177268, Robi- 01852788000, 01852798800, 01852804477, Banglalink- 01987781144, 01993781144, 01995781144, and Teletalk- 01513918096, 01513918097, 01513918098.
PM to witness flood devastation in the north on Tuesday
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit the flood-hit northern region including Sylhet and Netrakona on Tuesday to see for herself the devastation and the measures taken to mitigate the sufferings of the marooned people.
“The PM will leave for Sylhet in the morning by a helicopter from Dhaka. On the way, she will monitor Netrakona district’s flood situation from the helicopter by lowering it,” said a PMO Official.
Also read: Provide emergency banking services in flood-hit areas: BB
Her helicopter will land at MAG Osmani International Airport in Sylhet, he said.
Shafiqur Rahman, incumbent president of Sylhet Awami League said “The PM will come to see the sufferings of the flood-hit people and measures taken to control the situation.”
Also read: One lakh flood-affected people evacuated in Sylhet, Sunamganj
Flood: Waters start receding in hard hit north-east districts
The flood situation in the country continued to worsen Sunday as the water started flowing downstream to the central regions from the north-east districts with risk of landslides in hilly areas.
While Sylhet, Sunamganj districts remained worst-hit in flooding from heavy rainfall and onrush of upstream waters, disrupted lives of millions in Moulvibazar, Netrakona, Sherpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Kishoreganj districts.
Water level in different upazilas and Sylhet city area started receding on Sunday.
“We could not count the rainfall from 6 am to 4 pm on Sunday as it was too little to be counted. From Monday the sky will become less cloudy, decreasing the rainfall. It will also improve the flood situation,” said Sayeed Chowdhury, senior metrologist from Sylhet Met office.
Meanwhile rail communication with Sylhet was restored after 24 hours on Sunday at 12:55 pm after the train started operating on Dhaka-Sylhet route, said Nurul Islam, Sylhet Railway Station Manager.
Power supply to Sylhet was disrupted on Saturday after flood water entered the Kumargaon grid power substation and the authorities were forced to shut it down, suspending power supply to the two districts. Later in the afternoon, the electricity supply was restored partially in some parts of Sylhet city, which falls within the district
Power supply was restored in several areas of the city including Zindabazar, Chauhatta, Amberkhana, Bandarbazar, Nayasarak, Nayor Pool, Shahi Eidgah, Tilagarh, Baluchar and Mirer Maidan from Saturday 8 pm .
Up to one lakh people have so far been evacuated from the flood-hit Sylhet and Sunamganj districts, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman said on Sunday.
Nearly 40 lakh people have been marooned in the two districts in one of the worst floods in the region in memory.
The rain-fed deluge inundated 60 percent areas in Sylhet district and 90 percent areas in Sunamganj district, the state minister told reporters at the Secretariat.
Already 75,000 people have taken shelter in different centers in Sunamganj and 30,000 people in Sylhet did the same.
The flood situation slightly improved in Sylhet while it remained static in Sunamganj district. Besides, the flood situation worsened in Habiganj and Moulvibazar districts.
The flood situation in north-eastern areas may improve but it will turn worse in the adjacent northern parts of the country due to rise in water levels of Brahmaputra and Teesta, he said.
The electricity supply to Sunamganj district and its adjacent areas had to be disconnected to avoid accidents as Chhatak and Sunamganj grid substations went under flood water.
Meanwhile, more than one lakh people of Chhatak upazila remained under flood waters till Saturday afternoon. People of the upazila have not received any kind of assistance including relief from the administration
Onrush of upstream water threatens Chandpur town protection embankment
The Chandpur town protection embankment has become vulnerable due to onrush of water from upstream.
Some vulnerable spots in the embankment have already been spotted by Water Development Board (WDB) officials.
They are dumping cement blocks and sand-filled geo bags to prevent the cracks in the embankment.
The vulnerable spots in the embankment are- Puranbazar and Notunbazar points, Tilabari in Jamuna Road (cracks developed twice within just two or three months), Pilot House, Dolmandir area, Harishava, Ronagoyal, South Sriramdi and adjacent areas.
Read: Modern launch terminal to be constructed in Chandpur
Executive Engineer of WDB Chandpur office Rifat Jamil told UNB that he visited the Dolmandir spot.
“A total of 13,000 geo bags and 10,000 cement blocks have been dumped in a five-kilometer area. Another 13,000 geo bags and 13,000 cement blocks have been kept available beside the embankment to use during any emergency,” said the official.
“Chandpur district town is situated on the confluence of three rivers- the Meghna, the Padma and the Dakatiya. As a result, the town always remains under threat of river erosion during monsoon,” he said.
Rail communication with Sylhet restored after 24
Rail communication between Sylhet and other parts of the country resumed Sunday afternoon after nearly 24 hours as floodwater started to recede in some areas.
Sardar Shahadat Ali, additional Director General (Operation) of Bangladesh Railway, said the railway authorities resumed the train services Sunday afternoon.
The rail link with Sylhet was suspended Saturday afternoon due to the worsening flood situation.
Read: Rail communication with Sylhet snapped amid flood
Sylhet railway authorities made the announcement of suspending train services around 12:55 pm.
“As floodwater entered the railway station rail communication has been suspended,” said Nurul Islam, manager of Sylhet Railway Station.
Flood situation in Sylhet started turning into a terrible disaster from Thursday afternoon as almost all the upazilas and municipal area went under water.
Sylhet flood: Food, pure drinking water crisis hit vicitms hard
Flood vicitms in the district have been going through immese sufferings due to crisis of food and pure drinking water.
“We have neihter any food nor have received any relief at the shelter,”said Terab Bibi, a resident of Chararpar of Sylhet city who has taken shelter at Ramkrishna Primary School in Chalibandar area amid the worsening flood situation.
“I failed to provide any food to my children as no relief materials have reached the shelter yet. I gave some puffed rice to my children. How can I stay here?” said the 35-year old woman.
Floods are ravaging the country and vast areas starting from Sylhet-Sunamganj to northern Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram have been submerged by floodwaters.
As rains ceased, floodwater started to recede in some flood-hit areas on Sunday. However, many rivers are still flowing above the danger level.