Water recedes, affliction stays

Floodwater has reportedly been receding from the severely affected Feni district, with many areas of Noakhali, Laxmipur and few other districts inundated afresh.
Rescue and relief operations remained tougher in places like Chhagalnaiya in Feni for communication hurdles.
Faruq E Azam, advisor to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, briefed the media on Tuesday that 27 people lost their lives in 11 districts in floods, with 5.6 million people affected.
At a press conference held at the Secretariat, he provided an update on the current flood situation, stating that the floods have affected 74 upazilas and 541 union-municipalities.
The number of affected people stands at 5,619,375, with 1,207,429 families trapped in water-locked areas.
In terms of fatalities, Mr Azam reported that 10 people have died in Comilla, 5 each in Chittagong and Noakhali, 3 in Cox's Bazar and one each in Feni, Khagrachhari, Brahmanbaria and Laxmipur.
Meanwhile, according to volunteers, hundreds of relatives gathered along the road in front of Feni Polytechnic College on Tuesday, anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones.
While the water has receded in Feni town and electricity and mobile networks have been restored, Phulghazi, Parashuram and Chagalnaiya upazilas remained isolated and submerged in floodwater, said Md Siddiq, co-convener of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal of Paltan area in Dhaka.
He was leading a volunteer group for relief distribution in Feni and Noakhali.
A shortage of engine-powered boats means that only a few trawlers are available for rescue.
Although some survivors are brought back each day, the number of missing persons continues to rise.
Those who return speak of desperate conditions, with many witnessing bodies floating in the water or hearing the cries of hungry children, he said.
Faraway relatives, gripped by fear and uncertainty, are desperately trying to find their loved ones.
Rescue efforts are going on, with the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, BGB, RAB, Police, Fire Service, Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and various volunteer organisations working tirelessly to evacuate the displaced.
However, there are troubling reports of unscrupulous traders inflating the prices of essential goods, exploiting the flood crisis.
Meanwhile, the flood situation has worsened in Noakhali and Laxmipur where water levels continue to rise.
In Noakhali's Companyganj upazila, Muchapur sluice gate collapsed under pressure from floodwater, worsening the situation as the gate was washed away into the small Feni River.
Eight of Noakhali's nine upazilas are now experiencing massive flooding and no relief - public or private - has reached the most remote areas, leaving those affected in dire straits.
In Feni, on the entrance roads to Phulghazi, Chagalnaya, and Parashuram, hundreds of people awaited news of their relatives - many of them in tears.
Rescue teams were bringing in small groups of survivors in the few available trawlers, and people were desperate to catch a glimpse of their loved ones.
Juel Rana, a resident of Rayer Bazar in Dhaka, shared his helplessness.
He had not been able to contact his family in Chhagalnaiya for last five days, a period in which his parents and a brother were unreachable. "It's just a two-hour drive, but I can't go home."
Locals report that while relief supplies arrive regularly, the urgent need is for clean drinking water.
Many flood victims are openly saying, "Give us water; we don't need anything else," said many volunteers.
According to local representatives, the flood situation in seven municipalities and eight upazilas of Noakhali has worsened following continuous rain.
Since August 21, five people have died due to the floods in Noakhali, and 2.1 million people remain stranded in water.
The situation is also dire in Kamalnagar, Laxmipur, where new areas were submerged after heavy rainfall on Monday night, leaving millions without sufficient relief or clean water.
In Cumilla, sufferings have intensified across 14 flood-affected upazilas.
Food and clean water remain in short supply. Relief efforts in shelters are somewhat consistent, but remote areas are harder to reach due to a shortage of boats.
Although water levels in the Gomti River have started to recede, erosion has caused severe flooding in 15 unions of Burichong, Brahmanpara, and Debidwar upazilas, trapping hundreds of thousands.
In Moulvibazar's Kamalganj, water levels in the Manu River have decreased, slightly improving the flood situation.
Meanwhile, repair work has begun on the damaged embankments of the Manu and Dhalai rivers.
However, in Shahrasti of Chandpur, over half a million people have remained stranded in floodwater in the past two days.
However, the flood forecasting and warning centre (FFWC) reports that the water levels of major rivers in northeastern, eastern and southeastern regions continue to decrease.
In the last 24 hours, no significant rainfall was observed in eastern Cumilla, Brahmanbaria and Feni districts bordering Indian Tripura and inland basins of Tripura province and water levels in upstream rivers continued to recede.
As a result, the current flood situation in the eastern districts continues to improve.
Water levels in the rivers of Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts are flowing below the danger level.
According to the data of meteorological agencies, there is no possibility of heavy rainfall in the north-eastern region of the country and adjoining uplands in the next two days.
According to the data of meteorological agencies, there is no possibility of heavy rainfall in the eastern part of the country and adjacent uplands in the next one day.
At this time, the water level of Gomti river and Muhuri river might decrease. As a result, the flood situation in the lower areas of Comilla may improve in the next one day.
But the data of Bangladesh Meteorological Department shows a well-marked low pressure was located in the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining southern part of Bangladesh.
Due to this, there is a possibility of moderate to heavy rainfall in the south and south-western parts of the country in the next twenty-four hours.

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