The flood situation in Kurigram district worsened further on Saturday due to the swelling of major rivers caused by the onrush of water from upstream and incessant rainfall.
Over 100,000 people are currently marooned in the district.
According to the local Water Development Board (WDB), the Dharla River was flowing 22cm above danger level at Shetu point while the Brahmaputra River was flowing 22cm above the red mark at Chilmari point at 6am on Saturday.
Besides, the water level in the Teesta also increased at many points due to continuous rain.
The low-lying and char areas of Kurigram Sadar, Ulipur, Phulbari, Nageshwari, Bhurungamari and Chilmari upazilas went underwater while nearly 100 educational institutions have been closed due to flood.
Also Read
- 50,000 people marooned by flood in parts of Kurigram
- Teesta banks erosion: Over 50 houses washed away in 45 days
- Flash flood leaves 20,000 people marooned in Kurigram
River erosion at 30 points in the district has taken a serious turn, with 20 educational institutions and many houses threatened.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension, 6,000 hectares of land have been inundated and 150 fish enclosures were washed away by the floods.
Besides, many roads have been submerged in nine upazilas of the district, snapping road communication.
Many people have taken shelter on roads and embankments as floodwaters entered their houses.
Thousands of people in flood-hit areas have been suffering from a shortage of food and drinking water for the last couple of days.
The flood situation in Jamalpur worsened further on Saturday due to the onrush of water from upstream and incessant rainfall.
The Jamuna was flowing 15cm above danger level at Bahadurabad jetty point yesterday. At least seven union parishads under Islampur and Dewanganj upazila went under water in the past couple of days.
Railway communication with Netrokona has been snapped, as a railway bridge in Mohanganj upazila collapsed due to the floods.
The bridge, which is between Mohanganj and Atitpur railway stations, collapsed at around 9am on Saturday, Mymensingh Railway Station Superintendent Jahangir Alam told Bangla Tribune.
“A Dhaka-bound Haor Express train from Mohanganj has been stranded on the route since morning. The matter has been reported to the authorities,” he added.
On Friday, various areas of Netrokona’s Kalmakanda, Durgapur and Barhatta upazilas were reportedly inundated due to the downpour and downhill onrush of water.
Roads, houses and educational institutions of more than three hundred villages of eight unions of the upazila have been flooded. About 200,000 people have been stranded.
According to district administration sources and locals, after Kalmakanda Sadar upazila the situation is worst in Barakhapan, Pogla, Kharnai, Lengura, Nazirpur and Rangchati unions.
The flood situation deteriorated following a sharp rise in the water levels of major rivers inundating low-lying areas of seven northern districts in the Brahmaputra basin in the last 24 hours till at 9am on Saturday.
District administration officials said floodwaters had inundated vast low-lying areas of Rangpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur and Bogra districts, marooning around 150,000 people.
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) officials said the major rivers were flowing above their respective danger marks (DM) at eight points yesterday, following a continuous onrush of water amid the heavy monsoon.
The Brahmaputra was flowing 13cm above its DM at Noonkhawa and 14cm at Chilmari and Dharla by 48cm at Kurigram, Teesta 12cm above the DM at Dalia and 1 cm at Kaunia, Jamuna was flowing 29cm above the DM at Fulchhari, 17cm at Bahadurabad and 9cm at Shariakandi points at 9am on Saturday.
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre on Saturday warned that floods could hit 14 districts in the northern region of Bangladesh in the next two days.
According to the FFWC, floodwaters are entering the Brahmaputra basin through Kurigram and advancing further.
As a result, the water could enter Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra, Tangail, Sirajganj, Manikganj and Pabna in the next few days.
In the Teesta basin, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Rangpur might also get flooded.
Meanwhile, due to water coming down hilltops, water level in the Teesta River in Sylhet has risen which is affecting the Jamuna River. As a result, its water level in Sirajganj has risen beyond the danger level. Kazipur point in the district is at 1cm above danger level.
On the other hand, heavy rains have started upstream of the Padma River which may increase further. As a result, floods may start in the lower areas of Shariatpur, Madaripur, Chandpur and Faridpur.
According to the FFWC, heavy rains are likely to intensify over the next two days in greater parts of Meghalaya, Assam and West Bengal.
Due to the rains, water from upstream could worsen the flood situation in the country.