Incessant rains continued to pile pressure on Sylhet residents on Saturday, pushing them towards a crisis of food and drinking water.
Furthermore, the last conventional means of travel to the region was closed after railway communication was suspended.
“The situation in Sylhet is dire. We do not have enough food or drinking water. All our belongings are underwater. We are spending our days sitting on the bed,” said Sanjida Islam, a resident of the city’s Taltola area.
“I have never experienced such floods before. Most areas of the city are inundated. Water is entering people’s homes. Many have been without any food for days,” said Mahbubur Rahman of Sadarpara.
On Saturday, many people were preparing to send foodstuff and water to the worst-hit upazilas by boat.
One of them, Humayun Kabir, said he was doing what he could to help people to the best of his ability in this difficult time.
“People are suffering because of the floods, and many areas have yet to receive any government aid,” he said.
The authorities suspended the movement of trains to and from Sylhet railway station after its platform became submerged.
For now trains will run from Maizgaon railway station in Fenchuganj, which is 20km from Sylhet.
Shahidul Huq, general secretary of Sylhet Railway Sramik League, said the platform was under six inches of water.
The intercity Parabat Express from Dhaka would stop at Maizgaon railway station in the afternoon, instead of at Sylhet railway station, he added.
Flight operations at Sylhet’s Osmani International Airport have been suspended since Friday afternoon and will remain so till Monday due to the runway going under water.
Also yesterday, railway communication with Netrokona district was snapped after a railway bridge in Mohanganj upazila collapsed due to the onrush of floodwaters.
According to meteorologist Saeed Amhed Chowdhury, Sylhet saw 157mm of rainfall from 6am to noon on Saturday.
Heavy rainfall was likely to continue in the district till Monday, he said.
The Bangladesh Water Development Board’s Sylhet office said the Surma River was flowing above the danger level at Kanaighat and Sylhet points at 6am on Saturday.
State Minister: Sylhet, Sunamganj floods worst in 122 years
State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Enamur Rahman said the floods in Sylhet and Sunamganj were the worst in 122 years.
The state minister made the remarks while speaking at an emergency press conference on the flood situation in the country at the secretariat on Saturday evening.
People of 64 upazilas in 10 districts of the country have been marooned due to the ongoing floods.
All government and private agencies of the country were working together to provide shelter to the flood-affected people, he said, adding that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was monitoring the rescue operation constantly.
He stated that personnel of the army, navy and coast guard were conducting rescue drives which would continue until the situation improved.
"The flood situation has worsened, severely marooning thousands of people on Friday. The civil administration began an evacuation drive through rescue boats. As many as 90,000 people of flood-affected Sylhet and Sunamganj districts have been taken to shelter centres," the state minister said.
Enamur mentioned that deputy commissioners of the two flood-hit districts informed that rescue boats were insufficient compared to the number of marooned people.
"As per the prime minister's directives, members of the army began rescue operations with 31 speedboats in the afternoon on Friday. The navy carried out rescue operations on Friday night with 30 rescue swimmers while the coast guard reached there on Saturday afternoon," he added.
He said that as many as 25,000 people had been taken to around 450 shelter centres in Sylhet while 65,000 people were evacuated to 200 shelter centres in Sunamganj in combined efforts.
He further said: “Cooked kedgeree (khichuri), puffed rice (muri), flattened rice (chira), molasses and water purifying tablets were also distributed at the shelter centres.
“Tk80 lakh cash has been allocated to each of two flood-hit districts for the distribution of readymade foods.”
Sunamganj-5 MP Mohibur Rahman Manik said that he had received reports of five deaths in his constituency due to the floods.
“Among them, two including an SSC candidate died in Dowarabazar upazila–one each in Mannargaon union and Banglabazar union– and one child died in Jawa area,” he added.
The MP said that many more were at risk of dying in the floods.
Besides, a young man died after falling into the water at Hatkhola in Sylhet sadar upazila.
Navy joins relief and rescue operation in Sylhet, Sunamganj
The navy started work to rescue flood victims on Saturday morning, joining the army.
Sylhet Assistant Commissioner Ahsanul Alam said navy personnel had arrived and a team of 35 divers had started work, adding that a team of 60 divers would join them later in the day.
“Two Coast Guard ships will arrive in the afternoon. One will go to Sunamganj and one will be engaged in rescue work in Sylhet. In addition, two air force helicopters will be engaged in rescue operations,” he added.
Alam said one team of the navy was working in Jalalabad union of Sylhet Sadar upazila while another team was in Companiganj.
Besides, the army was engaged in rescue operations in Sylhet Sadar, Companiganj and Gowainghat, he added.
The Bangladesh Army has launched a toll-free helpline for the flood-affected people of Sylhet and Sunamganj.
In a press release issued on Saturday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate asked people of the two districts to dial the helpline numbers to seek the army’s help.
The helpline numbers are 01769177266, 01769177267, 01769177268, 01852788000, 01852798800, 01852804477, 01987781144, 01993781144, 01995781144, 01513918096, 01513918097, 01513918098.
