A flood is raging in the north and northeastern part of the country, badly affecting the lives of thousands. A huge swathe of land has been inundated as some of the major rivers such as the Jamuna, Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla and the Dudhkumar are flowing well above the danger level at several places. Bhurungamari-Sonahat Land Port Road has been declared off limits to all heavy vehicles as torrential rain has claimed a strip of the important highway.  

The government apparently has been taken unawares. It is not as though the situation was unanticipated given that areas upstream had been hit by heavy rains. It was imperative to take precautionary measures to relocate people to safer places and give them succour. Indeed potable water and medicine should be made available to them on an urgent basis.  

The government relief agencies should raise their preparedness level, keeping pace with the surge of the monsoon; meteorologists believe that the flood situation might worsen. It is at a time like this that sustained cooperation in the exchange of metrological data between Bangladesh and India is of crucial importance.