Floods displace over 2.0m people

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FE Report brFloods displaced more than two million people until Thursday in 15 districts particularly in northern and central regions of the country, the government officials in the capital said Thursday.brThey said flood situation of low-laying areas in the eastern part of Dhaka city is likely to deteriorate slightly by next 48-72 hours.brApart from this, the officials said, more low-lying areas in the districts of Chandpur, Serajganj, Tangail, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Faridpur, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Dohar and Nawabganj of Dhaka district, Shibganj and Sadar upazilas of Chapainawabganj district are likely to be inundated by next 72 hours.brAs on September 4, 29 out of the country's 73 rivers monitored by the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) registered rise in water levels over the previous 24 hours, with 23 now flowing above their danger levels.brFlooding in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts will likely continue as the region (including Kachhar, Goalpara and Dhubri districts in the neighbouring Indian Assam state) has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the last several days.brA senior official of the government's Department for Disaster Management, however, said around 50,000 people were stranded on 'floating' villages in inundated central Faridpur district until Thursday.brAt least three children reportedly drowned in the district as they tried to cross a river on a raft. Eight people died in the floods, he quoted the local officials as saying.brIn the northern town of Bogra flood waters washed away a portion of a dam, submerging at least 10 villages in the region.brThe flood waters first hit the country from the neighbouring Indian states of Bihar, West Bengal, Arunachal, Assam and Meghalaya at end-August, entering the country's three major river systems, including the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and the Meghna.brInundating the north-western and north-eastern districts, the same water is now flowing south through the country's heartland, threatening to flood Dhaka, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Faridpur and Shariatpur districts in the south-central region.brDeputy Project Director of FFWC Mustafa Sarwar said flood conditions in the northern region worsened with the Teesta and the Dharla rivers - two tributaries of the Brahmaputra - rising.brOfficials, meanwhile, said nearly 125,000 people in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Rangpur districts have been marooned, while two young girls drowned in flood waters in the Chalonbeel area in Tarash sub-district earlier this week.brHundreds of 'chars' (river islands) have been submerged, trapping tens of thousands and prompting many people to shift to higher ground along flood embankments, they said.brThe officials said the marooned people are now suffering from an acute lack of drinking water and food while livestock did not have enough fodder.