Flood in new areas in south

New areas in the southern region have been inundated, while the flood situation remains unchanged in the northern part of the country and some other districts.

Most of the major rivers in the southern region were overflowing and many of them crossed the danger level.

The forecast is not good.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) in its bulletin yesterday said, "Heavy to very heavy rainfall is forecasted for south-eastern hilly region and south-central coastal region in next 24 to 48 hours."

"Water levels of rivers in these regions may rise rapidly during the period," said the bulletin released at 9:00am yesterday.

"There could be a short flooding in some places of Chattogram, Bandarban, and Cox's Bazar in next 24 to 48 hours, and there is a possibility of landslide in vulnerable areas," the bulletin added.

At least six rivers were flowing above the danger level yesterday, according to the FFWC bulletin.

Meanwhile, over 49.60 lakh people of 160 upazilas in 33 districts are still being affected by the flood, according to the National Disaster Response Coordination Centre latest report released on Monday.

Our district correspondents report on the flood situation.

In the southern region, water of rivers has been rising for the last two days due to heavy rain, high tides and water from upstream, said Mohammad Masum, assistant engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board in Barishal.

The rivers include the Kirtonkhola, Burishwar, Tentulia, Meghna, Payra, Biskhali, and Kacha. They go through Barishal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Barguna, Jhalakathi, and Pirojpur.

The rivers were flowing 2cm to 68cm above the danger level at different points, said Dipak Das, executive engineer of WDB.

The rivers have inundated vast areas of land, houses, roads, and kitchen markets.

All 16 unions under Barishal's Mehendiganj upazila have been submerged, said Upazila Nirbahi Officer Pijush Chandra Dey.

Many areas in the district's Gournadi and Agailjhara upazilas have gone under water, said Gournadi UNO Israt Jahan.

Most of the 19 slums in Barishal city have been flooded.

In Bhola, many low-lying areas of Manpura, Doulatkhan, and Charfession have been flooded.

In Gaibandha, water levels of the Brahmaputra and Ghaghat rivers have been increasing over the last four days.

But the water levels were stable yesterday and there was no possibility of further increase in the next 10 days, said Mokhlesur Rahman, executive engineer of WDB.

In Sirajganj, the flood situation remained unchanged, though water of the Jamuna slightly increased.

"The flood situation may improve next week … ," said KM Rafikul Islam, sub-divisional engineer of WDB.

In Nilphamari, the flood situation remained stable in the Teesta basin area as the river was flowing 25cm below the danger mark at Dalia point yesterday.

There is a possibility of rain upstream. In that case, the river may swell again, said Rashedin Mowla, sub-divisional engineer of Dalia division of WDB.

In Manikganj, water level of the Jamuna increased 5cm in the last two days at Aricha. But it is still below the danger level, said WDB officials.

In Tangail, water levels of major rivers have slightly increased over the last two days.

"There is no forecast of further deterioration of the flood situation in the district, said Sirajul Islam, executive engineer of WDB.

However, stagnant water in low-lying areas remains a problem for many.

[Our correspondents in Barishal, Bogura, Nilphamari, Pabna, Tangail, and Manikganj contributed to this report]