Sheeting rainfall has been forecast to continue throughout the rest of the month, leaving workers, families and children utterly distraught in the wake.
Published : 13 Aug 2023, 09:25 PM
Intense flooding only ephemerally shows signs of improvement as it continues ravaging Bangladesh's southeastern region. While some reports of the floods improving have been seen in the Upazilas of Bandarban and Rangamati and nearby areas such as Satkania and Sitakunda, the floods will likely worsen in the coming days. Sheeting rainfall has been forecast to continue throughout the rest of the month, leaving workers, families and children utterly distraught in the wake.
Until last Tuesday, roughly 80 percent of the homes, offices and markets were entirely submerged as the flood-stricken region was hit with a week of relentless rainfall, forcing many families to take their children and brave the pouring weather on rooftops as rushing water met their front doors.
Access to necessities such as electricity, gas, internet and clean water has become harder because of the points of supply being pounded by the floods. Operations are hampered in the region, depriving families and their children and putting them in danger.
Children's education has also come to a sharp halt as the initial closing of schools on Tuesday was extended to Wednesday and Thursday not long after with several schools completely underwater. Survival has become a struggle for many families as people who support their families through a daily wage have been stripped of their income with movement becoming impossible on the waterlogged roads.
The Madhumati River, for example, continues to stay above the danger level. Meanwhile, the continued erosion caused by the flooding has resulted in landslides and waterlogging in previously safe areas in the Chakaria Upazila. The dykes put in place to prevent erosion have been overwhelmed, as the water sweeps across the region.
Over 90 villages have been caught in the deluge affecting approximately 480,000 people, destroying their source of food and income by completely washing over farmland and thousands of fish enclosures.
Thousands of families have tried to claim shelter amidst the crisis, with army personnel deployed to rescue victims and deliver food and other supplies. About 250 shelters have been set up so far to aid flood victims, which have served over 5,000 people and over a thousand families.
In the country's northeastern region, the Surma, the Kushiyara, the Jhalukhali, the Kangsha, the Someswari, and the Jadukata may rise rapidly due to the incessant showers. The impact of climate change on these events cannot be overstated, with sea levels rising because of the crumbling ice caps inevitably impacting the water cycle. The Himalayan glaciers that feed many of the major rivers flowing through Bangladesh are also melting at an accelerated rate, further contributing to the increased rate of rainfall that appears more erratically and intensely.
The risk of death goes beyond just drowning, with landslides caused by the accelerated erosion, flooding and snakebites claiming lives. So far, there have been reports of a female high schooler who died soon after the floods started and a child who drowned with his grandfather. On top of this, there has been a report of a boat capsizing over flood water resulting in four people, including three children, going missing. Three children have also died from a tragic landslide in Cox’s Bazar.
Throughout the last week, there have been some rays of hope poking through the cracks with salvation for so many people trapped in the waterlogged southern region of Bangladesh; however, with low-lying areas having the odds stacked further against them, it becomes unclear what direction the crisis will take next.
Reporter's age: 17 | Dhaka