Flooding causes Tk 59.73b losses

Floods in Bangladesh so far this year have caused damage worth Tk 59.37 billion, the government has said, reports bdnews4.com.

As many as 33 of the 64 districts were inundated, while people in 40 districts suffered due to four spells of flooding, said Md Enamur Rahman, state minister for disaster management and relief.

The ministries will chalk up a rehabilitation plan based on the damage, he said in a media briefing at the Secretariat in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The floods have damaged houses and other buildings, domestic animals, crop fields, fisheries, roads, bridges and dams among other things.

The floods lasted 46 days this year, wreaking havoc on 30 percent of Bangladesh.

Meanwhile BSS report from Rajshahi adds: Water level in many of the rivers in the Ganges basin either recorded fall or remained steady till Tuesday morning due to declining of onrushing floodwater from upstream hilly catchment areas in the past 24 hours ending 9 am Tuesday after rising for the last couple of days.

Of the 30 river points monitored in the Ganges basin Tuesday, water levels receded at 21 points, while went up at six points and remained stable at three points, according to data of Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC).

However, the rivers were flowing below the danger level at 28 points, while above the danger levels at two points.

"We recorded falling and steady trends in many rivers, including Modananda, Ganges, Padma and some of the downstream rivers and tributaries of the Ganges basin today," Mukhlesur Rahman, Superintending Engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), Tuesday morning.

He said water level of the Ganges River remained steady at Pankha in Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi and Hardinge Bridge points, while receded by two centimeter (cm) at Talbaria points afresh at 9 am Tuesday.

However, Mukhlesur said, the Ganges River was still flowing 165 cm, 183 cm, 110 cm and 77 cm below the danger levels at Pankha, Rajshahi, Hardinge Bridge and Talbaria points respectively.

Water level of the Padma River declined by six cm further at Goalundo point, and the river was flowing 18 cm above the danger level at the point this morning, he added.

Korotoa River water level went up by two cm at Chak Rahimpur point again, while remained stable at Bogura point, and the river was flowing 273 cm and 356 cm below the danger mark at the two points respectively Tuesday morning.