Staff Reporter :Floodwater started to recede in the country’s north and northeast districts, leaving trails of devastation to crops, houses, roads and dykes. Normalcy also started returning to some flood-hit areas of Rangpur, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat while the situation improves very fast in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogra and Sirajganj, districts sources of Water Development Board (WDB) said. Many flood victims were, however, still living on embankments or government shelter centres. As of August 3, monsoon-induced floods that began around July 22 have affected some 3.2 million people across 16 districts of the country. Of the 16 districts in northern and central part of the country, including Bogra, Faridpur, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Kurigram, Kushtia, Lalmonirhat, Madaripur, Manikganj, Nilphamari, Rajbari, Rangpur, Shariatpur, Sirajganj, Sunamganj, and Tangail are currently affected by severe flooding. Waters are slowly retreating in the northern areas. According to the Department of Disaster Management, at least 6,34,409 families in the country’s 16 districts, mostly in the north and northeast, have been hit by flooding since mid-July. Some 2,000 km of roads and 58.09 km of embankments in Jamalpur, seven km of roads in Nilphamari, 327 km of roads in Sirajganj and 300 meters of dykes in Gaibandha were damaged fully or partially. Around 42 deaths have been recorded and 38 officially confirmed, including many cases of drowning of minors, nearly 7,400 people have sought refuge in 69 flood shelters. Some 250,000 houses have been destroyed or damaged. The affected people are badly in need of food, water and emergency shelter. More than 300,000 people stranded in Shariatpur and Faridpur district alone. Meanwhile, water levels in the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakhy around the capital are rising and the trend might continue for next 24 hours, according to Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC). “There is no possibility of flooding in northern and western areas of Dhaka. But the low-lying areas in the east might see flooding,” said Ripon Karmakker, assistant engineer of FFWC. Balu River at Demra and Turag River at Mirpur are flowing 17 cm and 14 cm below their respective danger level. Lowlands adjacent to Demra of Balu River may experience water rise for next 24 hours. Water level on the Brahmaputra-the Jamuna and the Surma-the Kushiyara are in falling state. The Ganges-the Padma Rivers are in Steady state. TheBrahmaputra-the Jamuna and the Surma-the Kushiyara may continue to fall in next 72 hours. Flood situation likely to continue improving in lowlands adjacent to the Brahmaputra and the Jamuna Rivers at Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Sirajganj and Bogra in next 72 hours. Flood situation in lowlands adjacent to Rajbari, Manikganj, Munshiganj and Sariatpur district may likely to remain steady in next 48 hours.
