Frustrated residents suffer as Sylhet floods again

Some locals had to wade through knee-deep waters for emergencies amid the torrential rain

Incessant rainfall and an onrush of runoff from upstream have battered the Sylhet Division again, flooding low-lying areas and inundating the city.

According to Shah Md Sajib Hossain, an assistant meteorologist, Sylhet recorded 294 mm of rainfall from 6am Monday through 6am on Tuesday.

India’s Cherrapunji recorded 645mm of rain in the last three days, said Deepak Ranjan Das, the executive engineer of the Sylhet Water Development Board.

However, the amount of rainfall has decreased in the last 24 hours.

“If the rainfall increases, the flooding will worsen in Sylhet. It is already raining in Sylhet. The rivers are flowing over their warning levels,” said Deepak.

On Tuesday morning, knee-deep waters could be seen in several areas of the city including Jatarpur, Subhanighat, Machimpur and Uposhahar. While some locals wade through the waterlogged roads, others are commuting by rickshaw, private car or autorickshaw.

Ershad Mia, a resident of Uposhahar’s Block C, told bdnews24.com: “On Monday night, knee-deep waters inundated my house. Everyone struggled throughout the night. In the morning, I had to wade through inundated streets to go out. It was the same on the way back. Most of the streets of the area are waterlogged.”

Ahmed Hossain, who lives in Block D of the same area, said: “This is the third time that floodwater has inundated my house. The floodwater made its way in on Monday night. The streets are also waterlogged. If this keeps happening, we will have to leave this area.”

Mamun Mia, a resident of Jatarpur, lives on the fourth floor of his building. But he says he has difficulty commuting as the floodwater has encroached on the ground floor of the building.

“I waded through knee-deep waters to get to the market. I have to go out to work. I can no longer deal with the pain of having to regularly endure these circumstances,” said Mamun.

Parvez Ahmed, another resident of Sylhet City’s Beterbazar area, told bdnews24.com: “The water level rose last night. I can't even begin to explain the suffering we have had to endure.”

Sylhet Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Mohammad Mubarak Hossain said: “The water in the rivers has risen due to the incessant rainfall in the past two days. But the overall situation is still under our control. The executive officers of the Upazilas are working. We are distributing relief and aid among those affected.”

The water levels have also risen in the Fenchuganj, Balaganj, Osmaninagar, and Bishwanath areas, Mubarak said.

“People are coming to the shelters again due to the rise in water levels,” he added.