Floods coming to the heartland

Flood situation worsened in the northern districts yesterday as all major rivers were flowing above the danger mark.

Floodwater has already made way to some parts of Tangail, and the low-lying areas of Munshiganj and Shariatpur could be flooded within 24 hours, said a Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) report issued at 6:00pm yesterday.

Water levels of all major rivers are likely to rise in the next 24 hours as northern and northeastern parts of the country, along with Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya, will see heavy to very heavy rains, said the report.

Talking to The Daily Star, FFWC Executive Engineer Arifuzzaman Bhuyan said the flood situation will start improving within a week.

In Kurigram, at least 20 villages in Nageshwari upazila were flooded as the 100-metre flood control dam of the Water Development Board (WDB) collapsed due to onrush of water, reports our Lalmonirhat correspondent.

Most parts of Nageshwari town have already been inundated with floodwater entering fresh areas of the upazila.

More than 1.5 lakh people in nine upazilas of Kurigram and around 50,000 people in five upazilas of Lalmonirhat were marooned as of yesterday.

Flood situation deteriorated in Sirajganj yesterday with the Jamuna flowing above danger mark at almost all points in the district.

"Water level [of the river] may continue to rise till June 22 ..." Md Nasir Uddin, sub-divisional engineer of the WDB in Sirajganj, told this newspaper.

Almost all char areas in Sirajganj Sadar, Kazipur, Belkuchi, Shahzadpur and Chowhali upazila were already flooded, he said.

Nasir further said that around one lakh people were still stranded in five upazilas of the district.

Meanwhile, Sirajganj district administration yesterday discussed necessary steps to provide relief materials to the flood-affected people, said Md Akteruzzaman, district relief and rehabilitation officer.

At least 10 villages in Tangail's Kalihati were inundated after an embankment of the WDB collapsed in Basail area.

The villages include Analiabari, Nordohi, Bhawal, Deopur, Bilchaiya, Bhabla and Deolabari, said Salla union parishad Chairman Abdul Alim.

Low-lying and char areas in the district got submerged as the water level of the Jamuna river kept rising, reports our correspondent from Tangail.

Ataul Gani, deputy commissioner in Tangail, said they have already made all necessary preparations to tackle the flood situation.