Floods ravage Ctg, Sylhet

Three more children died in Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar yesterday as floods, fuelled by incessant rain and relentless hill torrents from upstream, continued to devastate lives and livelihoods across the Chattogram region.

The flooding has left hundreds of thousands of people marooned, devastated agriculture, and brought transport and communications to a standstill in Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, the hill districts and parts of Sylhet. So far, 33 people have died.

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The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations scheduled for today in all districts under the Chattogram Education Board have been postponed.

The Met Office yesterday warned of a heightened risk of landslides in hilly and other vulnerable areas of the Chattogram region, which is expected to receive heavy to very heavy rain today.

The Chattogram district administration has cancelled all weekly and scheduled leave for officials and staff to deal with the evolving situation.

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Zahidul Islam Miah, deputy commissioner of Chattogram, said round-the-clock control rooms had been opened at district and upazila levels to monitor rescue operations and coordinate relief distribution.

More than 230 emergency shelters have been opened across the affected upazilas, providing shelter and dry food for displaced families.

The humanitarian crisis is most severe in Satkania, where 70-80 percent of the area remains under water. Around 3,50,000 people have been trapped, according to the local administration.

The Sangu and Dolu rivers have breached key embankments, including a several-hundred-foot section in Rampur. Major government facilities, including the Satkania Upazila Health Complex, local courts and the police station, are under water.

Satkania Upazila Nirbahi Officer Khondaker Mahmudul Hasan described the situation as “horrific”.

“Most of our unions are completely submerged.... countless crop fields and fish ponds are ruined,” he told The Daily Star.

He said 89 emergency shelters had been opened to provide dry food to displaced residents.

In Banshkhali two children drowned in separate incidents yesterday as floodwaters submerged large parts of Baharchhara union.

One of the victims, Md Ashik, 8, son of Kamal Uddin from Dokkhin Ilsha village, was swept away by a strong current around 11:30am.

In Ratnapur village of the same union, three-year-old Miraz drowned in floodwater, said Banshkhali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Robiul Haque.

Around 45,000 people remain stranded by hill torrents and high tides in Banshkhali, said Upazila Nirbahi Officer Ruhul Amin.

“Water entered our house and washed away our valuables,” said Amena Begum, who took shelter at a relief centre with her three children.

Although floodwater has begun receding slowly in parts of the upazila, road links with many remote unions remain cut off.

The administration has opened 110 shelters.

Large areas of cropland, rural roads and fish enclosures have also been inundated in Lohagara, Chandanaish and Anwara upazilas.

In Chandanaish, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abdur Rahman said around 14,000 people had been affected, and 27 shelters were operating.

In Lohagara, breaches in embankments along the Dolu River and Hatia Canal inundated four of the upazila’s nine unions, trapping nearly 30,000 people.

Kamal Uddin, a local, said the force of the water had collapsed many mud houses and severed rural road links. Lohagara Upazila Nirbahi Officer Bayazid Bin Akhond said 12 shelters were housing affected families.

Meanwhile, political parties and voluntary organisations have begun reaching affected areas.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman visited flood-hit Banshkhali and Satkania yesterday, distributing relief and financial assistance. He urged wealthy citizens and voluntary organisations to help flood victims.

In Cox’s Bazar, at least 150 villages in 35 unions across all 10 upazilas have been flooded, leaving more than 300,000 people stranded.

The worst-hit areas include Chakaria, Pekua and the newly formed Matamuhuri upazila. Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Ukhiya, Teknaf, Ramu, Maheshkhali, Kutubdia and Eidgaon have also been affected.

Amid the flooding, 12-year-old Hasnatul Jannat Jharna died after being swept away by floodwater in Chakaria yesterday.

The accident occurred around 11:20am in Rasulabad of Baraitali union when three sisters were crossing floodwater by boat. All three fell into the water and went missing.

Fire Service personnel, assisted by a diving team from Chattogram, launched a rescue operation. Jharna’s body was recovered around 1:50pm.

Her two sisters, Sawrin Moni and Jerin, were rescued in critical condition and admitted to hospital, said Chakaria Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shahin Delwar.

Residents in affected upazilas alleged that commercial fish enclosures had blocked natural drainage channels, worsening waterlogging. They also alleged that illegal fishing traps installed at more than 100 points along the 124km Matamuhuri river embankment, along with the control of sluice gates by influential groups, had aggravated the flooding.

Meanwhile, two sections of an embankment in Purba Mehernama of Sadar union collapsed early yesterday, inundating nearby areas and leaving tens of thousands stranded.

Abdullah Ansari, general secretary of Pekua Press Club, said hundreds of residents had tried to reinforce the embankment with sandbags on Wednesday night, but heavy rain and strong tidal currents breached it before dawn.

Shahin Delwar said the administration was working round the clock to repair damaged embankments and regularly monitoring sluice gates to ensure proper drainage.

He said more than 100,000 people in Chakaria and Matamuhuri had been marooned, while around 600 people had taken shelter in 96 cyclone shelters, where dry food and emergency assistance were being provided.

He added that four people had died in the two upazilas over the past two days, including two in landslides and two after being swept away by floodwater.

Pekua Upazila Nirbahi Officer Rafiqul Islam said around 50,000 people remained stranded.

“The situation is difficult. Many homes are underwater. Although water levels are no longer rising, they remain stagnant. If rainfall decreases and the water recedes, people’s suffering may ease somewhat,” he said.

Passenger trawler services on the Teknaf-St Martin’s route remained suspended for the seventh consecutive day because of rough weather. Water transport on the Cox’s Bazar-Maheshkhali and Pekua-Kutubdia routes also remained suspended, causing hardship for thousands of passengers.

In the Sylhet region, around 30,000 people in 30 villages of Habiganj Sadar have been marooned after incessant rain and hill runoff caused the Khowai river embankment to breach at two points -- Kaliganj in Laskarpur and Radhapur in Baniachang upazila.

At least 1,000 people have taken shelter in temporary centres. Several villages remain inundated, while water levels in other rivers, including the Kushiyara, have risen above the danger level. Residents along riverbanks and in haor areas remain on edge amid fears of further flooding.