Minister of State for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has regretted suspending power supply to Sunamganj district and adjoining areas.

People in Sylhet and Sunamganj have been experiencing a power outage since yesterday (June 16, 2022) following heavy floods caused by upstream water and heavy rainfall in the districts.

The authorities of Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (SUST) have postponed all classes and exams till June 25 after some parts of the campus were inundated due to the ongoing floods.

Worsening floods in Sunamganj and Sylhet districts have resulted in power outages, closure of many schools as they have been turned into makeshift flood shelters, and vast areas being inundated, with locals saying the flood is worse than the ones they experienced in 1998 and 2004.  

Members of Bangladesh Army have been deployed to manage the heavy flooding and its aftermath in Sylhet and Sunamganj.

Vast areas of Sunamganj, Sylhet, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat are under water as bordering rivers have swelled due to heavy rain upstream Assam and Meghalaya.

The flood situation in Sylhet and Sunamganj has worsened for excessive torrential rain in the districts and India’s Meghalaya and Assam.

About 35,000 people of 49 villages in Kurigram’s Roumari have been suffering from shortage of drinking water and food since flood hit the upazila on June 11.

Low lying areas in Sirajganj and adjoining Chalanbeel have been flooded as water level is rising in the Jamuna river along with Fulzore, Kortoa, Boral and other connective rivers of the district.

Reddish water from upstream in Assam, India, has been flowing into the rivers of Rowmari upazila in Kurigram resulting in flooding at 30 villages across three unions.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 struck the Peru-Brazil border region on Tuesday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

Four members of a joint family, including a child, were dead in a landslide in Jaintapur upazila of Sylhet.

With a call to generate and allocate necessary global funding for least developed countries that are facing natural disasters to strengthen the culture of disaster preparedness and investing in technology, the seventh Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) 2022 ended yesterday in Bali, Indonesia.

All rivers of the upper Meghna basin yesterday started flowing below the danger level at all points for the first time in 13 days in Sylhet and Sunamganj.

As all rivers except the Surma were reportedly flowing below the danger level yesterday afternoon, the authorities are now prioritising repairing the damaged roads and restoring communication.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (May 25, 2022) said that the world must not divert its attention from the looming climate crisis due to the ongoing geopolitical tension.

Praising Bangladesh’s initiative to reduce disaster risks for people with disabilities, speakers said, reducing risks for all, leaving no one behind, is a very easy thing to say but difficult to accomplish. However, Bangladesh is showing the world how to reduce the disaster risks for all, even for people with disabilities.

Over 1.5 million children are at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition due to extensive flooding in north-eastern Bangladesh, said Unicef Bangladesh in a statement yesterday.

Over the decade, Bangladesh has earned the name of a role model in disaster management despite being one of the most disaster-prone and climate-vulnerable countries.

Over 1.5 million children are at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition due to extensive flooding in north-eastern Bangladesh, said Unicef Bangladesh in a statement today.