Overall floods worsen as rivers continue to flow at danger levels
August 03, 2007 00:00:00
The overall flood situation in the country has deteriorated further with rivers continuing to flow at danger levels, reports bdnews24.com.
Although 11 rivers saw their water levels recede, some by as much as 15 points, 14 others registered rise of up to 28 points, according to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) Thursday.
Compared with that of the previous day, however, the general rate of flooding was reportedly slowing.
The current flooding has so far left at least 54 persons killed and nearly 5.7 million (57 lakh) people in 34 districts affected by the current flooding FFWC official, Md Sajjad Hossain, told the news agency: "The rate of swelling of rivers in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna basin was slightly slower compared to that of Wednesday."
The Sylhet region registered improvement with water levels receding at three points following the fall of the water level of the river Surma.
The Ganges basin, however, saw little improvement with the Padma in further spate at two points.
In the Brahmaputra basin, the river Dharla at the Kurigram point receded by 8 cm, although it remained 43 cm above the danger mark.
The Teesta swelled 11 cm at the Dalia point, 1cm above the red mark, compared with the 1cm below just the previous day.
The Brahmaputra receded by 15 cm and 9 cm at Noon Khaowa and Chilmari points respectively; but still flowing 35 cm and 62 cm above the danger mark.
The Jamuna receded 6 cm at Bahadurabad, 77 cm above the danger level, although the situation deteriorated further at Sirajganj and Aricha points, where both localities saw water levels reach 120 cm.
The Old Brahmaputra swelled 18 cm at Jamalpur point, 22cm above the danger level.
The Sitalakshya swelled 13cm, flowing 19cm above the danger mark at Narayanganj.
The Dhaleshwari swelled 14cm, flowing 64cm above the danger mark at Rikabi Bazar.
The Padma at Goalando swelled by 10 cm and at Bhagyakul by 7 cm, about 144 cm and 100 cm above the danger level respectively.
The Surma receded 20 cm, 13 cm and 10 cm at Kanaighat, Sylhet and Sunamganj points, still flowing above the danger mark by 111 cm, 29 cm and 50 cm respectively.
The Kushiara was flowing 43 cm above the danger level at Amalshid and Sheola points.
The Someshwari receded at Durgapur, but was flowing still 90 cm above the danger mark.
The Kangsho flow remained unchanged at Jariajanjail point, but was still flowing 166 cm above the red mark.
The Meghna saw a negligible increase at Bhairab Bazar and Chandpur, leaving it flowing 53 cm and 30 cm above critical levels. UNB adds: The bulletin said the flood situation in the districts of Manikganj, Munshiganj, Faridpur, Rajbari, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Dohar and Nawabganj upazila under Dhaka district is likely to aggravate further. Food and Disaster Management Adviser Tapan Chowdhury told reporters that standing crops on about 170,496 acres of land were completely damaged by the flood water.
He said Tk 2,264,200 in cash, Tk 6,516,500 for house reconstruction, 14023 tonnes of rice and 1400 cartons of biscuits were so far distributed among the flood-hit people.
"We've adequate relief goods for distribution," Chowdhury told a correspondent.
In reply to another question, he said the government has no plan at this point to seek international assistance as "we are trying to face the situation with our own strength and resources."
The adviser expressed the hope that all irrespective of party affiliation and opinions would come forward to face the situation. "We'll be able to overcome this disaster if we all come forward with whatever we have." LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal said de-watering pumps have been set up to drain stagnant water in Dhaka city. He said the water supply in the city will remain uninterrupted even during the worst situation. He said DND areas covering Rajarbagh, Manda, Maniknagar, Kushumbagh, Satarkul, Debpara, Nandipara, Gulpara and Trimohoni in eastern Dhaka were partially inundated.
BSS adds: New areas of Sirajganj district have been inundated as the overall flood situation further deteriorated with the river Jamuna flowing 120 cm above the danger level. District administration sources said the gas pipeline of the western zone, which passes through the Phuljar river, has developed a crack due to the strong current in the river at Nalka alongside the Dhaka-Bogra highway in the early hours of Thursday.
The inhabitants of Horegachhi, Amdanga, Ulipur, Alokdia, Alokdia Char and South Pachila villages of Raiganj and Ullapara upazila took shelter on the Dhaka-Bogra highway as the areas were inundated Wednesday.