Continuous heavy rainfall under the influence of a low-pressure system over the sea has left vast areas of Satkhira, including municipal regions and various lowlands, submerged.
Thousands of families were trapped by water on Tuesday, with farmers and fish cultivators counting heavy losses.
The rain, which began early Monday, has inundated fields, canals, ponds, and roads, plunging low-income people and farmers into acute distress.
According to the Satkhira met office, 100 millimeters of rain was recorded in the 24 hours until midnight on Monday. This follows the season’s highest rainfall of 129 millimeters on July 4.
Meteorologist Zulfikar Ali Ripon stated that the ongoing rain is due to the low pressure over the sea, and while rainfall might slightly decrease, the overall tendency is expected to continue through July.
So far this monsoon, Satkhira has seen a total of 272 millimeters of rainfall, with forecasts of moderate rain and thunderstorms on Tuesday.
Visits to Kamalnagar, Razarbagan, Godaibil, Baddipur Colony, Munjitpur, Katia, Garerkanda, and Itagachha in the municipality revealed that most homes have waterlogged yards, with water entering many houses.
In addition, numerous families across 14 unions in Sadar upazila, including Alipur, Kashempur, Bakchara, Baliadanga, and Babulia, are marooned. With water invading their homes, many residents have constructed raised platforms to take shelter. Some families were seen moving on rafts made from banana trees.
Cooking has come to a halt in these submerged households; lighting a stove is out of the question as they grapple with shortages of food and clean water.
The relentless rain has caused extensive damage to crops and fish enclosures.
Aman seedbeds, Aus paddy fields, and vegetable plots across the district lie underwater, while many fish enclosures have been washed away. Severe waterlogging has gripped various wards of Satkhira municipality, with water reaching knee to waist height in places, making movement extremely difficult for residents.
Sharifa Begum of Kamalnagar shared: “Every year we move to Satkhira town from Shyamnagar because of natural disasters. But even here there is no peace. Every year during the rains, water enters our home. Our area stays submerged for at least six months.”
Alongside the municipal areas, coastal regions such as Shyamnagar, Assasuni, and Kaliganj have been hardest hit. Hundreds of ponds and shrimp enclosures have merged into one expanse of water.
Golam Hossain, a fish farmer from Burigoalini in Shyamnagar, said: “This year I farmed Rui, Katla, and various other fish species in two ponds. With the excessive rain, the ponds have flooded and all the fish have probably washed away.”
Fish farmers report that ponds have been connected with canals and rivers, erasing their boundaries and resulting in fish being swept away, causing losses worth several lakhs of taka.
Madhab Chandra Dutta, joint convener of the Satkhira unit of the National Citizens Party (NCP), said: “Due to the rain that began anew from dawn on Monday, terrible waterlogging has emerged in low-lying areas around Satkhira town. Fields, canals, ponds, and roads are underwater. Low-income people and farmers are suffering immensely. Waterlogging has become a permanent problem. Most areas across nine wards of the municipality are submerged. We demand a permanent solution.”
Satkhira Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shoaib Ahmad said that sluice gates have been opened to drain the water.
Additionally, 50 kilometers of canals and irrigation channels were renovated in the 2024-25 fiscal year, he added.
The agricultural losses are substantial.
Saiful Islam, deputy director of the district Agricultural Extension Department, said the recent days of rain have caused massive damage to agriculture.
About 162 hectares of Aus, 106 hectares of Aman seedbeds, and 44 hectares of leafy vegetables have been affected, amounting to financial losses of roughly 1.5 crore taka. Outside Sadar upazila, however, good yields are still expected, raising hopes that the overall target will be met.
