Flood concern rises in south-east amid red alert in Tripura

Water levels receded on Monday in the south-east river basins but concern grew for a red alert issued in the Indian state of Tripura over heavy rainfall in the next two days.

Meanwhile, the north-western regions are set to be flooded as India has opened all the gates of the Frakka Barrage upstream.

Floodwater entered many places afresh on Monday in the south-eastern districts affecting more than 5.7 million people in 12 districts and leaving 23 people dead so far, according to government data, released on Monday noon.

Communication hurdles caused an obstacle to relief programme by the government agencies and volunteer groups.

The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief in Monday's report said that approximately 1.38 million families across 74 upazilas in 11 flood-affected districts - Feni, Cumilla, Chattogram, Khagrachhari, Noakhali, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Sylhet, Laxmipur and Cox's Bazar - have been stranded by floods.

The total number of affected people stood at 57,01,204.

As of Sunday, the death toll from the floods reached 20 while the number of affected individuals was around 5.2 million.

In a separate update on Monday, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (FFWC) reported that there had been no significant rainfall in the past 24 hours in the border areas of Indian Tripura, as well as in the eastern districts of Cumilla, Brahmanbaria and Feni, and the interior basin of Tripura.

The water levels of upstream rivers continued to recede.

The report also said that the flood situation in the low-lying areas of Feni and Cumilla districts was showing improvement while water levels in the rivers of Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts had dropped below the danger mark.

However, light to moderate rainfall was expected in the eastern part of the country and adjacent upstream areas in the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, an emergency allocation of Tk200 million has been made to expedite relief and rescue operations in the flood-affected southeastern region.

Deputy commissioners in the affected areas have been instructed to take steps in coordination with the efforts of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement coordinators, the army, navy, medical teams, and other volunteer groups for effective relief and rescue work.

However, despite the improvement in last two days, forecast from Indian Met Office has further raised concern.

A red alert has been issued in several northwestern states of India due to the threat of heavy to very heavy rainfall.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of intense rains as a low-pressure area over northwest Madhya Pradesh and adjoining eastern Rajasthan has developed into a deep depression. The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported this on Monday.

Tripura, which borders Bangladesh, is one of the states where the red alert has been issued.

Recent record-breaking rainfall in Tripura led to widespread flooding in several districts of Bangladesh. With more heavy rains expected, the situation in Bangladesh could deteriorate further.

According to the IMD forecast, the deep depression is currently located around 70 km south-southeast of Chittorgarh in Rajasthan.

It is expected to move west-southwestward by August 29, bringing heavy rainfall to southern Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Later, the system may reach parts of Pakistan through Saurashtra and Kutch.

Another depression over Bangladesh and Gangetic West Bengal is also likely to intensify into a deep depression, which could impact areas such as North Odisha and Jharkhand.

During this period, rough seas and strong winds are expected, prompting the IMD to advise fishermen, farmers, and local residents to take precautionary measures in anticipation of potential floods.

The IMD forecast issued on Monday indicated that Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura could experience heavy to very heavy rainfall for the next two to three days.

The IMD has issued a red alert in these regions.

In addition to these states, Konkan, Goa, central Maharashtra, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, and Jharkhand are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next two days.

Meanwhile, another concern has grown for the north-western region as India has opened all 109 gates of the Farakka Barrage, upstream of the Ganges (Padma) river.

India opened the gates claiming severe flood situation in several eastern districts.

The gates were opened on Monday following heavy rains that increased water pressure in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand.

This has raised concern that large areas of Bangladesh, as well as Murshidabad in the Indian state of West Bengal, could also experience flooding.

India has claimed that Bangladesh was informed in advance about the possibility of floods and landslides caused by the heavy rainfall.

Citing sources from the Farakka Dam project, the Indian media outlet News18 reported that the water level at the Farakka Dam rose significantly due to the rains in Bihar and Jharkhand, necessitating the opening of all its gates to manage the water pressure.

As a result, it is expected that around 1.1 million cusecs of water will flow into Bangladesh within a single day.

The report also indicated that the amount of water entering the dam was being released accordingly.

The water level at the Farakka Barrage has reached 77.34 cm, above the danger level.

This has created excess pressure, and since the water exceeds the dam's capacity, the authorities have had to release it.

Officials stated that failure to do so would pose a risk of damaging the barrage.

Farakka Barrage is located on the Ganges River in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India, around 18 kilometers from the Bangladesh border.

India dominates water of the Ganges-Padma basin through this barrage since its initiation in April, 1975.

[email protected]