The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

A quarter of the country’s landmass went underwater yesterday, as swelling rivers marooned people deeper in eight districts, prompting the government to deploy army to combat the situation.

The authorities warned the situation would worsen during the weekend as water levels in 16 rivers, continuously swelling, are flowing above the danger mark.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said the low-lying areas in the central region of the country, including Dhaka might be flooded in the next two to three days.

Floods in northern Shariatpur, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Madaripur, Faridpur, Sirajganj, Kurigram and Munshiganj districts worsened yesterday displacing millions of people.

In the next two to three days lowlands of Dhaka's eastern area may go under water, officials in the FFWC said. New areas in Bogra, Tangail, Manikganj, Rajbari, Chandpur, Dhaka's Nawabganj and Dohar and Chapai Nawabganj's Shibganj and Sadar upazila may be flooded.

Flooding has hit 20 of the country's 64 districts, said FFWC director Saiful Hossain.

Parts of the country were experiencing "medium" level floods, which was normal for this time of the year, he said, adding that authorities were preparing for the situation to worsen.

"Twenty-five per cent of the country is flooded, which is normal for this time of the year," he said.

According to our Correspondents and agencies: Low-lying areas in six upazilas of Shariatpur district were inundated in the last four days, as rivers Padma and Kirtinasha were flowing 15cm and 27cm above the danger levels respectively, submerging croplands in six upazilas.

A large number of dwelling houses in Naria, Jazira and Bhedarganj upazilas also submerged by the rolling floodwaters.

In Madaripur, about three lakh people in 30 unions of four upazilas were marooned, as water level in three rivers -- Padma, Arial Kha and Kumer -- rose sharply.

A number of roads in the district town also went under water.

Thirty-five out of 68 unions in seven upazilas of Jamalpur district were flooded as the water level in rivers Jamuna and the Brahmaputra continued to rise.

Officials at the local Agriculture Extension Department said transplanted Aman crop on 36,000 hectare of land in seven upazilas went under floodwater.

Education officials said classes in three secondary schools, 83 government primary schools, 108 registered primary schools and seven community primary schools have been suspended due to the worsening flood situation.

In Kurigram, 58 unions in Nageshwari, Sadar, Ulipur, Chilmari, Roumari, Rajibpur, Rajarhat and Phulbari upazilas went under as water levels of 16 rivers, including Dharla, Teesta, the Brahmaputra and Dudkumar, increased sharply.

Official sources said 22,329 houses, 35 educational institutions, 293 km of kutcha and 7 km of pucca roads were completely damaged by the floodwater, affecting nearly one lakh people.

About one lakh people of 100 villages in four upazilas of Faridpur were affected by flood, as river Padma kept swelling. It was flowing 87cm above the red mark at Goalanda point for the last several days.

Meanwhile, the flood-hit people have taken shelter in safer places.

Officials said 34 government educational institutions have been closed due to the deteriorating flood situation.

According to Agriculture officials, standing crops on 20,000 hectares of land were submerged by the gushing floodwaters.

In Sirajganj a vast track of low-lying areas in Royganj, Kazipur and Sadar upazials were submerged.

In Sherpur the overall flood situation in the district deteriorated further as rain-fed rivers continued to swell inundating a number of fresh areas under 16 unions in Sadar, Sreewardi and Nakla upazilas.

Road communications between northern districts and Sherpur remain snapped, as Sherpur-Jamalpur Highway went under waist-deep floodwater.

According to agriculture officials, some 6,975 hectares of transplanted Aman went under water while over one lakh people were marooned in Char and low-lying areas.

In Munshiganj, rivers Dhaleshwari and Padma were in spate, leaving thousands of people of 25 villages marooned.

A large number of houses, educational institutions and roads in local pourasava went under water, disrupting normal life.

Bangladesh is criss-crossed by a network of 230 rivers and suffers annual floods, with at least a fifth of the country submerged each year.

In July and August last year, flooding killed more than 1,000 people and some 40 per cent of the country went underwater, forcing millions to flee their homes.