The level of water in the Padma River has increased in the last 24 hours, while the Teesta may also see a rise in the next two days due to rains in Jalpaiguri and Sikkim, worsening the flood situation in parts of the country.
In Sylhet, people have started to return home as flood waters continued to recede in several areas. The Surma River was flowing below the danger level on Saturday for the first time in ten days. Water in the Kushiyara also continued receding.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the ongoing floods rose to 82 till Saturday morning since mid-May, with the loss of nine more lives in the past 24 hours. Five of them died in the Mymensingh division and four in the Sylhet division, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Among the deceased, seven have died by drowning in floodwater and one from snake biting and another died of other reasons.
At least 11 districts were experiencing monsoon floods on Saturday, with over 5 million marooned in Sylhet division since June 15. Standing crops in the districts have also been damaged by the floods; road communication, power supply and mobile networks have been disrupted in the flood-hit zones.
Seven rivers of the county were flowing above their danger levels as of 3pm on Saturday affecting 11 districts, with the mighty Padma River showing an upward trend.
Water levels at 26 river stations monitored by Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) have marked a rise while 78 stations recorded a fall.
Among the 109 monitored stations, five river stations have been registered steady while water levels at 10 stations are flowing above the danger level, a bulletin issued by the FFWC said on Saturday.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque is scheduled to visit Sylhet and Sunamganj on Monday. He is scheduled to exchange views with local health division officials there.
The overall flood situation has improved in Jamalpur as well. Water in the Jamuna and the Brahmaputra rivers continued to recede on Saturday, officials said.
Tetulia Upazila of Panchagarh saw the highest rainfall in 24 hours to on Satuday morning, recorded at 54mm.
In general, 50mm or more rainfall in one day causes stress on the local drainage system leading to localized flooding, according to the FFWC. Meanwhile, 300mm or more rainfall in 10 consecutive days impedes the drainage and is likely to cause rain-induced floods in the area.
Padma Gains Strength
The Padma became active and rose by 13cm in the six hours till 3pm at the Sureshwar point of Shariatpur.
The FFWC predicted that the low-lying areas of Rajbari, Shariatpur and Madaripur may face short-duration floods.
In the next 48 to 72 hours, there is a chance of medium to heavy rainfall in the sub-Himalayan West Bengal (Jalpaiguri, Sikkim). As a result, the water level of the Teesta River may rise and remain near the danger level.
However, the flood situation in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogra, Sirajganj, Tangail and Jamalpur may improve in the next 24 hours.
Water receding in Sylhet
On Saturday morning, the Surma and Kushiyara rivers were still flowing above their danger marks. By 3pm, the levels dropped by 2cm and 3cm while the Titas in Brahmanbaria remained 28cm above the danger level. However, at Kanaighat point water in Surma is still flowing 81cm above the danger level.
Around 60,000 people are currently living in 606 shelter centres in Sylhet district, where, at one point, over 230,000 people were forced to take refuge.
Thousands were seen preparing to leave shelter homes with worries in their heads about how to feed the family once they are home.
However, many low-lying areas in Sylhet are still under flood water. People in these areas are living in dire conditions with little access to potable water and food.
The FFWC said that the rivers in Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrokona might fall in the 24 hours to 9am on Sunday, while the water levels of rivers in Kishoreganj and Brahmanbaria districts might remain unchanged.
3 more districts get Govt aid
The government has allocated rice, cash and dry food as humanitarian assistance for the flood and other disaster-affected people in Brahmanbaria, Comilla and Kishoreganj districts.
The allocation was made by the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry on Friday, said a press release.
From the allotment, Brahmanbaria will get 2,000 packets of dry and other food products, Cumilla will get 200 tons of rice, Tk17 lakh, 1,700 dry and other food packets while Kishoreganj will get 100 tonnes of rice, Tk10 lakh and 2,000 packets of dry and other food products.
Earlier, 4,020 tons of rice, Tk5.36 crore and 95,000 food packets were allocated for the 11 flood-hit districts across the country.
The allocated money will be distributed only as humanitarian assistance to the victims of various natural calamities including floods during emergencies.
