Floods worsen in Sherpur and Mymensingh

The bodies of three more people have been found who died over the last three days after being swept away by floodwaters in Sherpur, bringing the total number of deaths from the recent floods in the district to seven.

With the ongoing flood situation worsening yesterday, the number of people currently stranded in Sherpur and Mymensingh reached around 3.5 lakh.

A bulletin from the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre yesterday said the flood situation in the two districts may remain stable till 9:00am today.

The three deceased were identified as Zahura Khatun, 70, of Chenguria village under Jhenaigati upazila; Muktar Hossain, 50, of Urfa union under Nakla upazila; and Mahua Khatun of Namabatkuchi village under Nalitabari upazila, said police.

Mohua had been missing since Friday noon when she was going to one of her relative's houses and was swept away by floodwater. Her body was recovered from a neighbouring village on Saturday night, said Sanowar Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Nalitabari Police Station.

On Saturday evening, Zahura Khatun was working in the yard of her house when, all of a sudden, a stream of rushing water entered into the yard, sweeping her away. Her floating body was recovered from near her residence around one hour later, said Habibur Rahman, OC of Nakla Police Station.

Muktar's body was recovered from Urfa area yesterday morning. But locals couldn't say when he drowned, Al Amin, OC of Jhenaigati Police Station.

Earlier bodies of four other victims were recovered from different areas of Sherpur's Nalitabari upazila on Friday and Saturday.

Around 1.5 lakh people in Sherpur's five upazilas -- Sherpur's Sadar, Jhenaigati, Nalitabari, Sreebordi, and Nakla -- are marooned, according to Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) officials.

Although Sherpur's major rivers were flowing above the danger marks last morning, as the day progressed, the water levels in these rivers fell.

At 6:00pm yesterday, the Bhogai river was flowing 92cm below the danger level at Nalitabari point, while the Chellakhali river was 17cm below the danger level at Batkuchi point, according to Sherpur BWDB.

Many fresh areas, including houses, farmlands, ponds and roads, have been flooded yesterday, said locals.

"I have not seen such massive flooding in recent years. My house is now under knee-deep water. We currently don't have enough dry food to survive on," said Abdul Malek, a resident of Balughat village under Nalitabari upazila.

"Floodwater entered my house so quickly that we could not move our furniture. All of my furniture have been damaged," said Halima Bewa, a resident of Rajnagar village under Jhenaigati upazila.

Fish from over 2,000 fish enclosures have been swept away, said Sherpur district Fisheries Officer Pranab Kumar Karmakar.

In Mymensingh, around two lakh people are marooned in Dhobaura and Haluaghat upazilas, according to the local administration.

Aman paddy of around 11,600 hectares have been damaged, said officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in in Mymensingh.

"I cultivated Aman paddy on 10 acres. All of my paddy plants have gone underwater," said Nurul Amin, a resident of Doshrarpar village in Haluaghat upazila.

Fish from around 10,800 enclosures have been washed away, according to the district fisheries office.

"All the fish in my fish enclosures covering around 50 decimals have been washed away," said Abul Kalam of Doshrarpar village.

Contacted, Md Akhlak Ul Jamil, executive engineer of BWDB in Mymensingh, said the flood situation may improve after three days.

Many flood-hit people alleged that they did not get any relief aid.

"People in our village who are stranded neither got relief materials nor any chance to be evacuated," said Masudur Rahman, of Boro Khalerpar village in Haluaghat.

However, Azim Uddin, Mymensingh's additional deputy commissioner, claimed that they were working to evacuate flood victims and distribute relief.

Army personnel, with eight speedboats, have joined the rescue operation in Mymensingh, said Major Ibrahim.

[Our correspondents from Mymensingh and Jamalpur contributed to this report.]