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Published : 22 Sep 2025, 01:48 PM
Three hours of heavy rain on Monday morning have flooded many roads and streets in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.
The rising water caused stalled engines, stranding vehicles and causing heavy traffic congestion at various locations. Commuters, pedestrians, and city residents faced great difficulties navigating the start of their day.
A bicyclist has also died after being electrocuted on a waterlogged road in Old Dhaka.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department says that the city saw 71mm of rain from 6am to 9am on Monday. Meanwhile, a low-pressure system has developed in the Bay of Bengal, which could result in moderate to heavy rain in different parts of the country until Sept 26.
The stretch of road from Mirpur No. 10, through Kazipara to Shewrapara, was waterlogged from 10:30am to 11am on Monday. The water was at knee height on both sides of the street from Al Helal Hospital to Kazipara. There was also waterlogging in East Kazipara, North Kazipara, and behind the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority office in Senpara.
The rain and waterlogging caused several vehicles, including buses, to stall out on this stretch of road. This hampered traffic, causing congestion.
Around 11am, the traffic was at a standstill on the Mirpur-bound lane from Mirpur No. 10, Kazipara, and Shewrapara. Most passengers disembarked from their buses and began to wade through the water.
Two women and a child were stranded in a broken-down CNG-powered autorickshaw on the road in front of Al Helal Hospital.
They said they were headed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with the child and had hired the autorickshaw from Mirpur No. 11. When it reached the No. 10 area, water got into the engine, and the autorickshaw stalled on the road. Despite many attempts, the driver could not get it to start again.
The child's mother, Nazma Sultana, told bdnews24.com: “The CNG autorickshaw broke down in such a spot that we couldn’t even get down; we couldn’t take a bus due to the heavy traffic either.”
“No other CNG autorickshaws are coming. We are in a lot of trouble.”
Monday's rains also flooded Dhaka's Motijheel, Rajarbagh, Green Road, Panthapath, Dhanmondi, Bijoy Sarani, Mirpur’s Kalshi Road, the road from No. 1 to the Technical area, the road in front of Balaka on Airport Road, Bashundhara Gate on Pragati Sarani, the Bashundhara Residential Area, Khilgaon and various roads in South Banasree.
The situation has led to suffering for the city’s residents.
Kazi Nafia Rahman, a teacher at a private university in Motijheel’s Gopibagh, lives in Mirpur. She takes the metro rail to Motijheel for work.
She told bdnews24.com, "As the roads are submerged, I had to suffer along the way from Motijheel Metro Station to Gopibagh."
"There is no way to travel aside from rickshaws. There weren’t many rickshaws on the road, and even the few that were available were charging a lot of money."
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Traffic, Mirpur Division) Deputy Commissioner Gautam Kumar Biswas told bdnews24.com at 11:30am that various roads in Mirpur were submerged by water due to the early morning showers on Monday. Vehicles broke down on various roads, and trees also fell. This has led to congestion in the area.
“Water is still accumulating on the Kazipara, Shewrapara, and Mirpur 1 roads. Many vehicles have broken down on various roads. Four buses are still broken down on the road. Trees have fallen on the road at the Technical intersection. Due to this, traffic jams are occurring on various roads in this area.”
Md Anwar Sayeed, deputy commissioner of the Uttara Traffic Division, told bdnews24.com that the road in front of the airport, and the Kawla and Ashkona areas were flooded due to the morning rain. The waterlogging, which occurred before office hours, has led to congestion.
“But now the traffic has returned to normal. Since I arrived, I have seen water accumulating in front of the airport, Balaka, and the domestic terminal. The drainage system here is not good, so water accumulates when it rains.”
The Dhaka South City Corporation said that waterlogging had occurred in the Green Road, Dhaka University campus, Shantinagar, Bailey Road, Kakrail, Paltan, Sat Masjid Road, and Dhanmondi areas. The water on the roads in these areas has receded as ward-based emergency response teams are working. However, it will take time for the water to drain in certain areas.
DSCC spokesman Rasel Rahman said, “As the water level on the water discharge outlet side and the canals and rivers is nearly the same, it may take a few more hours for the water to drain in some areas due to the slow drainage.
“Measures have been taken to quickly drain water from these areas through temporary portable pumps.”
