Feni is facing one of the most devastating floods in recent memory, with floodwaters from upstream in India and heavy rainfall inundating six upazilas, leaving over a million people stranded, many swept away and the receding waters now revealing more bodies.
According to the Feni district administration, who cited police sources, the district's death toll was 17 as of Wednesday night.
On Tuesday, the bodies of two unidentified men, aged 33 and 45, were found in the Lalpul area of Feni Sadar upazila.
The deceased were an unidentified woman, in her late thirties, from Chhagalnaiya upazila, Shahab Uddin, 70, from Dhanikunda in Parshuram upazila, Delwar Hossain, 50, from Mirzanganj union, Shakila, 22, from Noapur, Kiran, 20, from North Koriya, Raju, 20, from South Shreepur, Abul Khair, 50, from Kismat Basura, Syed Tarek, 32, from Lakshmipur, Rajab Nessa, 25, from Shani Hat, and Naeem Uddin, 28, from Sampur in Sonagazi upazila, as well as unidentified individual, 38, Abir, 3, from Charaikatkandi, Nur Mohammad Miraj, 8 months, from North Karimpur in Daganbhuiyan upazila, and Jafar Islam, 7, from Alampur in Joylaskor Union.
Earlier, on Saturday night, local residents spotted a body floating on a makeshift raft in knee-deep water in front of Sonali Bank on Mizan Road in Feni city.
The body was later retrieved by locals, who arranged for its funeral and burial.
The following day, the body of a child was found floating in the floodwaters in North Gobindpur village of Feni Sadar upazila.
An expatriate, Masud Khan, posted on Facebook: “My father was set adrift in floodwaters on a makeshift raft on the afternoon of August 23. How could those present there allow this? If necessary, they could have kept him on the raft for another day.
“No boat or rescue workers arrived. If a boat had come, his body could have been preserved. My heart is burning with the anguish of not knowing where he is. May Allah grant my father a place in Jannatul Ferdous,” he added.
Notably, the flood began in Feni on the afternoon of August 20 and worsened dramatically the following day.
Initially, the flood affected Parshuram, Fulgazi and Chhagalnaiya upazilas, but it later spread to Feni Sadar, Sonagazi and Daganbhuiyan, resulting in a severe humanitarian crisis for the residents of Feni.
