Flooding worsens in Sylhet, forecast says more rain to come

The weather forecast says there may be heavy rain for three more days, further worsening the situation

New areas have been flooded in Sylhet as rivers overflow their danger points. Four days of continuous rain and hill runoff have continued to worsen the overall flood situation in the district.

The water of the Surma River, which divides Sylhet city into two parts, has flooded various areas, particularly those close to its banks. The persistent inundation has led to great suffering for city residents.

Flooding has occurred in the Sadar, Dakshin Surma, Biswanath, Osmaninagar, Fenchuganj, Golapganj and Balaganj Upazilas as well as the border Upazilas of Gowainghat, Kanaighat, Jaintapur, Companiganj, Zakiganj and Beanibazar.

Sylhet Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Mohammad Mubarak Hossain said: “The flood situation has not improved. Some new areas have flooded, but the water level has not risen from before. Relief efforts are continuing in flood-hit areas. More resources were allocated on Tuesday. The district administration is keeping a close eye on the flood situation.”

He said that on Wednesday, Minister of State for Disaster Relief Md Mohibbur Rahman will inspect the flood situation in Sylhet's Companiganj, City Corporation and Osmaninagar and distribute relief to the flood victims.

Sylhet District Meteorological Department Assistant Meteorologist Shah Md Sajib Hossain said that 100 mm of rainfall was recorded in the district in the 24 hours from 6am on Tuesday to 6am on Wednesday.

And on Wednesday, 55 mm of rain was recorded in just three hours from 6am to 9am. Another 27.2 mm of rain fell from 9am to noon.

Deepak Ranjan Das, executive engineer of the Water Development Board-Sylhet said, “The rain continues, so it will take time for the situation to improve. Cherrapunji in India has received over 1,600 mm of rain in the last five days. However, Cherrapunji's rainfall has decreased slightly in the last 24 hours to 110 mm.”

Sajlu Laskar, public relations officer of Sylhet City Corporation, said that 80,000 people in 22 out of 42 wards in the city are waterlogged. People have gone to 22 of the 80 shelters in the city.

Under the orders of Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, mayor of the Sylhet City Corporation, the administration is distributing essentials such as cooked and dry food, pure water, and medicine to people outside the shelters as well.

Balaganj resident and local journalist Tarek Ahmad said, “There is water in most areas of Balaganj Upazila. People in these areas have taken shelter. The water is rising. Traffic on the Balaganj-Fenchuganj road is at a standstill due to the water."

WATER KNEE-HIGH IN SOME PLACES, WAIST-HIGH IN OTHERS

At around 10:30am, streets and houses in the city’s Taltola, Jamtola, Jatarpur, Sobhanighat, Mendibagh and Uposhahar areas were knee-deep or even waist-deep in water. Residents in these areas are treading dirty water. Some of the people in these waterlogged areas are travelling by rickshaws and rickshaw vans. The residents of Uposhahar are even travelling by boat.

They say they are forced to travel. On Eid day, the water started rising in the city’s neighbourhoods. Though it fell slightly on Tuesday afternoon, the water level increased again on Wednesday.

Taltola Point trader Enamul Hossain said, "The water has been here for several days, so the shop is closed. The water is not receding. I’m reminded of the flood in 2022. If the water does not subside soon, we will have to suffer and endure hardship, as we did in the last flood. If the shop is closed, how will my family survive?"

Suman Mia, the driver of a rickshaw van in the city’s Uposhahar, said that since Tuesday, he has been driving people to and fro in the area. After learning the roads in the neighbourhood, he agrees on a fare with his customers beforehand.

“Yesterday, I made some money. I hope today will be better. There is waist-deep water in some alley in Uposhahar.”

Rubel Ahmad, a resident of the area’s D-Block, said that the ground floor of his three-storey house is inundated with water above knee height. As a result, the downstairs residents have left. The water got into the house on Eid morning and he has had to walk through the dirty water for several days.

“What else can we do? If any initiative had been taken after the 2022 floods, the residents of the neighbourhood would not have had to suffer again.”

Kamal Miah, a rickshaw van driver working at Mendibag Point, said: “There is water from the Point to Mendibag Mosque. I have been driving people past the water in my van since yesterday. I am charging each of them Tk 10.”

Jatarpur resident Abdul Khalek, 55, said:

“There has been water in our neighbourhood since Eid morning. I rent in this area and I haven’t had a problem as I live on the first floor. But the ground floor tenants of our building have moved into shelters. We could not enjoy Eid because of the water. Due to rising water in this neighbourhood, it is difficult to move on the road."

Begum Jahan, 50, of the same area came to Sobhanighat Point after treading water that reached above her knees.

"There has been knee-deep water in the house for three days now,” she said. “Early on Sunday morning, water entered the house and damaged our belongings. The people of the house are spending day and night sitting on the bed with their belongings.”

If the water does not subside, she said she will have to go to a shelter.

"My body can’t stand this much suffering. I don't see any signs of the water receding. If you walk in dirty water, your hands and feet itch, but what else can you do? You can't live in one place. We have a kitchen on the upper floors, but you have to leave home for clean water and get soaked along the way. This has been going on since Eid day."

Chayan Das, a resident of Sobhanighat and a ninth-grade student at The Aided School in the city said that water had also entered his house on Eid day. The water has since reached waist height. Five members of his family went to stay on the second floor of their neighbour’s house on Eid day and many others in the neighbourhood had moved elsewhere, he said.

Parvez Ahmad, a resident of the Beterbazar area of the city, said: "The water rose in the house on Monday afternoon. Now it is knee-deep. I am sitting on the bed with all the others in my family. We didn't get any help until Wednesday and ate only what we had at home. On Tuesday, the water fell a little but it rose even further today. Our entire neighbourhood is waterlogged. And the water is waist-high in Lamapara, which is next to us. That is our situation.”

MORE PEOPLE TRAPPED BY WATER

The Sylhet district administration says that more than 17,000 people in flood-affected areas are staying in shelters.

Heavy rain is forecast for the next three days. The rain may worsen the flooding situation.

As of Tuesday, 1,323 villages in 116 unions in 13 Upazilas and 21 wards in the metropolis were flooded.

Some 675,937 people have been affected by the flooding. Among them, half a million people are stranded by the water in Sylhet city. The government has opened 627 shelters in the district, with 80 of them in the metropolis. About 17,285 people have taken shelter in these shelters.

RIVERS OVERFLOWING DANGER LEVELS

According to the Water Development Board, the water in the Kushiyara River in Sylhet was flowing at 15.87 cm at Amalshid Point on Tuesday, 47 cm above the danger limit. At 6am on Wednesday, it dropped by 1 cm to 46 cm above the danger level. At 9am, the level was unchanged.

However, the river’s water level at Fenchuganj Point rose higher on Wednesday compared to Tuesday. On Tuesday, the water was flowing 88 cm above the danger line. By 6am on Wednesday, it had risen to 92cm above the danger level. The level was unchanged at 9am.

On Tuesday, the Surma River water was flowing 122 cm above the danger level at Kanighat Point. By Wednesday morning it had subsided to 93 cm above the danger line. At 9am it had dropped to 91 cm.

However, the water level of the river at Sylhet Point had risen more on Wednesday morning than on Tuesday. At this point on Tuesday, the water was flowing 25 cm above the danger line. By Wednesday morning it was 38 cm above the danger line. At 9 am it had dropped slightly to 37 cm above the danger line.

At Sari-Gowain River’s Sarighat Point, the water was flowing 0.9 cm above the danger limit.