Dwellers suffer as heavy rain inundates Sylhet city again

4.6 mm of rainfall has deluged Sylhet in the last 24 hours

Three hours of torrential rains have inundated parts of Sylhet city, causing residents to wade through knee-deep waters.

According to Shah Md Sajib Hossain, an official of the Sylhet Meteorological Department, the region received 105 mm of rainfall from 6am to 9am on Thursday. As much as 81 mm of rain fell from 9am to 12pm.

From 6am on Wednesday to 6am on Thursday, only 4.6 mm of rain had fallen in the district, Sajib said.

Jatarpur, Subhanighat, Uposhohor, Machimpur, Jamtala, and Barnamala Point areas of the city were waterlogged due to the rain.

Though the rain poured down in the morning, it eased to a drizzle after midday.

Earlier, on Jun 2, several hours of rain waterlogged all of the city. Again, on Jun 8, incessant downpours flooded several areas in the city. Later, on Jun 10, rainwater accumulated in parts of the city, making life difficult for city dwellers.

Ahmed Hossain, a resident of Jatarpur, said: "When it started raining last night, I was worried about rainwater entering our house. However, the streets and houses were flooded in the morning after the rain. All our belongings are getting damaged due to severe waterlogging."

"If this continues, we will have to sell our houses. Tenants do not want to move to this area due to waterlogging issues. I call for a quick resolution to the issue."

Iqbal Kabir, a resident of Uposhohor’s D Block, said: "Whenever it rains, water accumulates in our neighbourhood. We want a permanent solution to this problem. We demand that the Surma River, city walls, and canals be excavated in a planned way.”

Nur Azizur Rahman, chief engineer of Sylhet City Corporation, said: "The current situation is due to the heavy downpour. But if the rainfall decreases, the water will go down. It takes time for the rainwater to go down the city drains. We are thinking of ways to solve the waterlogging problem here.”

Meteorologist Sajib said, "The rainfall that started Thursday morning will continue. Sylhet is currently cloaked by thunderclouds. So everyone should be wary of the lightning."

Meanwhile, Meghalaya's Cherrapunji in India recorded 349 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours until 9am on Thursday.