Poor chance of fresh flooding until mid-July

There is less possibility of fresh flooding in Bangladesh until mid-July and said the ongoing flood may last longer due to slow passing of water through major rivers and their tributaries, officials predicted.
"Both northern and northeastern parts of the country witnessed severe flooding on June 15, this year and vast swaths of these regions are still reeling from catastrophic impact of the deluge as a result of slow receding of water," Pritom Kumar Sarkar, assistant engineer of Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) told BSS on Saturday.
But the flood situation in north and northwestern worsened further after swelling of major rivers as Bangladesh and upstream regions recorded heavy downpour in late June, he added.
Water levels at 58 river stations monitored by Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) marked rise while 47 stations recorded fall.
Among the 109 monitored river stations, four have been registered steady while water levels at five stations are flowing above the danger level, a bulletin issued by the FFWC said here.
The Surma at Kanaighat, the Kushiyara at Amalshid and Sheola, the Old Surma at Derai, and the Someswari at Kalmakanda are flowing above the danger level by 49cm, 67 cm, 23cm, 13cm and 30cm respectively.
Significant rainfall was recorded at some stations in different districts during the last 24 hours ending at 9 am today, the bulletin added.
A total of 148 mm (millimeter) rainfalls were recorded at Teknaf, 90 mm at Bogra and 85 mm at Faridpur.
Significant rainfalls (mm) were also recorded during the last 24 hours in Sikkim, Arunachal, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura regions of North-East India, the bulletin added.
A total of 52 mm rainfalls were registered at Cherrapunji (Meghalaya), 37mm at Jalpaiguri (West Bangal) and 37 mm at Darjeeling (West Bengal).
The Brahmaputa- Jamuna rivers are rising, which may continue rising in next 24 hours, the FFWC bulletin said, adding All major rivers in the north-eastern region of the country are in a falling trend, which may continue falling in next 48 hours.
The Ganges-Padma river is in rising trend, which may continue rising in next 72 hours. Flood situation in Kurigram, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona, Kishoreganj & Brahmanbaria districts in Bangladesh may improve in the next 24 hours.
Waterborne diseases are spreading in the flood-hit regions of Bangladesh as floodwater started receding.
"Many people are suffering from diarrhoea, skin diseases, dysentery, cholera and other waterborne diseases," Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) sources said.
In the past 24 hours, a total of 324 people have been affected by diarrhea in four flood-hit divisions -- Sylhet, Rangpur, Chattogram and Mymensingh -- while 54 people have also suffered from skin diseases, a press release issued by the DGHS said.
To provide healthcare support to the flood affected regions of the country, as many as 2,047 medical teams have been working since the beginning of the flood, it added.
In Sylhet district, vast swathes of Sylhet region were hardly hit by devastating floods this year, officials and local people added.
Roughly five millions of people were marooned during the flood, they said adding: "A large number of people still have been marooned by the floodwater."
Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet Md Mojibor Rahman told BSS as many as 29,99,433 people in the district have been affected by the ongoing flood while around 40,000 people are still living at flood shelters.
He said relief materials including rice, dry food, medicines, and drinking water are being distributed among the people in the flood-hit areas.
In Sunamganj, nearly 30 lakh people have been badly affected by the devastating flood and the hard hit district is still reeling from the slow improvement of receding floodwater.
Local administration as well as non-government organisations are continuing relief operations to reduce suffering of flood victims.