Swelling Padma floods new areas

Trackback URL

Download PDF

The rise of water level of the Padma, due to vigorous monsoon rains upstream, caused inundation of new areas of the south-central part of the country, including Gopalganj, Satkhira and Faridpur.

North-western districts of Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Natore, Pabna and Kushtia are also vulnerable to flooding as the Padma is likely to continue to swell in the next two days, according to Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC).

The rise of water level of the Jamuna, Brahmaputra and Meghna also caused flooding in low-lying areas of Gaibandha, Chandpur, Sirajganj and Pabna last week and the situation there remained unchanged. Many flood victims had to stay in the flood shelters or on the embankments and could not return to their homes.

Reports say many areas of three unions of Faridpur Sadar upazila and Tungipara, Kotalipara and Muksudpur upazilas of Gopalganj went under floodwater as the Padma and Madhumati kept on swelling.

Around 1,000 families in Satkhira took refuge in flood shelters and more than 150 fish farms were washed away.

“Flood situation will deteriorate in the south-central part of the country if the Padma continued to rise,” Saiful Hossain of FFWC told BBC Bangla Service yesterday.

The flood situation of low-lying areas of four upazilas in Gaibandha, which were flooded afresh recently, remained unchanged as the water levels of the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Ghagot and Karotoa continued to rise at all points, reports our correspondent in Gaibandha.

The Gobindaganj-Dinajpur highway is under threat of being eroded at Tarafmanu as the Karotoa swelled 23cm there.

A correspondent in Chandpur reports: The state of the flooded Chandpur Sadar, Haimchar, Matlab, Hajiganj and Kochua upazilas remain unchanged.

Our Sirajganj correspondent reports: Around 5 lakh people in Sirajganj Sadar, Kazipur, Bilkuchi, Chowhali and Shahjadpur upazilas still remain in flood shelters and on embankments as fresh floodwater inundated low-lying areas. The district administration sources, however, claimed this number to be 2 lakh.

The Padma recorded a swell of 12cm at Pankha, 12cm at Rajshahi, 12cm at Hardinge Bridge, 11cm at Goalundo and 8cm at Bhagyakul. The Padma was flowing 36cm above danger level at Goalundo and 30cm at Bhagyakul yesterday.

The swell of the Padma at Goalundo and Bhagyakul is likely to continue during the next two days deteriorating the flood situation in Manikganj, Munshiganj, Faridpur, Rajbari, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Gopalganj, Chandpur and Dohar and Nawabganj upazilas of Dhaka, FFWC reported.

A correspondent in Munshiganj reports: Around 10,000 labourers of rice mills in the district, who live from hand to mouth, are living in utmost distress, as the mills remain idle due to bad weather.

The millers claimed they incurred a loss of Tk 3 crore in 200 mills across the district as wet and boiled rice could not be dried for husking.

The price of rice also shot up in the area which supplies a large amount of rice to Dhaka and many other districts of the country.

Meanwhile, the spread of respiratory tract infections (RTI), skin diseases and conjunctivitis took a turn for worse, while the diarrhoea situation appeared to have improved slightly.

According to the control room of the Directorate of General Health Services, around 688 people were newly infected with RTI, raising the number to 15,048 since July 30. At least 12 patients died of RTI.

The number of patients with skin diseases stood at 15,009 yesterday with 717 newly infected and the number of patients with conjunctivitis stood at 3,659 with 257 newly infected patients.

A total of 2,575 people were infected with diarrhoea yesterday, the number was 3,400 Saturday. Since July 30, a total of 501 drowned and 36 people died of snakebites.

“The diarrhoea situation in the capital and on the outskirts of the capital, however, remained unchanged,” Shahadat Hossain, scientist and head of Longer Stay Unit of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) told The Daily Star yesterday.

“Since last evening [Saturday evening], a total of 700 new patients were admitted to the ICDDR,B and 60 to 65 of them are adults with severe dehydration,” he said last evening.

Our correspondent in Rangpur reports: Two people died of diarrhoea and 30 others were infected with water-borne diseases during the last two days in Gagachara upazila.

Leave a Reply