Waterlogging in Chattogram after port city sees 330mm of rain

Some schools in the port city have suspended classes and exams due to the “unfavourable weather conditions”

After experiencing 330mm of rain over 24 hours, several parts of the port city of Chattogram have become waterlogged.

The rain, which began on Sunday morning turned very heavy on Monday. It poured down throughout the day, turning torrential at night. Since Monday evening, parts of the city have been inundated.

The showers continued into Tuesday morning as well.

The Patenga Met Office says that 330.8mm of rainfall was recorded in the 24 hours to 9am on Tuesday.

Several parts of the city, including the Agrabad commercial area, CDA residential area, Katalganj, Panchlaish, Kapasgola, Chawkbazar, the Halishahar K and L blocks, Rampur, Tin Poler Matha, and Batali Road, were waterlogged.

The flooding has led to suffering for city residents.

Aside from rickshaws, there is little traffic on the roads. Some schools in the city have suspended classes and exams due to the “unfavourable weather conditions”.

Chattogram Mayor Shahadat Hossain said, “The heavy rain that started yesterday morning has yet to let up. It has been raining for about 48 hours. I have been around the entire city since yesterday.

“About 30 percent of the work on the Hijra Canal remains. The dams have been opened due to the monsoon. The rest of the work will be done later.”

He said, “Today there is no water in Prabartak More, Bahaddarhat, Muradpur, Bakalia. Some work is left on Gulzar Canal in Agrabad. Hopefully, when the work is completed, the water will not get in there either.”

The mayor added that two or three large trees have fallen in Lalkhan Bazar amid the heavy rain and a section of Airport Road had collapsed.

Pranab Kumar Sharma, deputy chief sanitation officer of the Chattogram City Corporation, told bdnews24.com: “It rained a lot at night. Combine that with the morning tide, the canals do not have the capacity to hold the amount of water that came down.

“We are still working in the Agrabad commercial area. We have been working in different parts of the city throughout the night. We are working to ensure that the water recedes quickly.”

The port city has often complained of waterlogging whenever it rains more than 100mm at a time. At the end of April, rain led to waterlogging in Prabartak More, the Chattogram Medical College Hospital area, Panchlaish Residential Area, GEC, Muradpur, Rahmatganj, and Sirajuddaula Road.

In the face of public criticism, authorities decided to remove the embankments on the Hijra Canal and Jamalkhan Canal. These embankments were removed by May, but the renovation work on the two canals has been suspended due to the current monsoon season.