Home ›› 24 Jun 2022 ›› Front
Authorities are bracing for the spread of waterborne diseases and racing to get drinking water to people stranded in their homes by flooding across a quarter of the country.
Nearly 2,000 rescue teams were trying to reach flood victims in 17 of the country’s 64 districts and bring them water and other supplies, Atiqul Haque, director general of the Department of Disaster Management, told Reuters.
“With the flood waters receding, there is a possibility of an epidemic. We fear the outbreak of waterborne diseases if clean water is not ensured soon,” Haque said. “Ensuring the availability of drinking water is our top priority.”
More than 4,000 people have contracted various waterborne illnesses so far, including diarrhoea, in flood-hit districts, with more than half the cases in the Sylhet region, the Directorate General of Health Services said on Thursday.
“The situation is alarming. We are getting more and more patients each day. They are mainly suffering from diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, fever, skin infections and other waterborne diseases,” Ahmed Hossain, Civil Surgeon of Sunamganj, one of the worst-affected districts, told Reuters.
More than 4.5 million people have been stranded and 42 people have been killed in the worst flooding in the Sylhet region in the northeast in more than 100 years.
The floods have damaged 75,000 hectares of paddy and 300,000 hectares of other crops, including maize, jute, and vegetables, agriculture ministry official Humayun Kabir said. “The devastation is huge. More crops could be damaged as new areas are being flooded.”
Fatema Begum, a mother of three in Sunamganj, said the floods had washed away everything. “There is not even a trace,” she said of her small thatched hut. “We don’t even have a second pair of clothes.” No one has come to help.”
The monsoon brings heavy rain and floods to South Asia between June and October, especially in low-lying areas like Bangladesh, where rivers are swollen with water pouring out of the Himalayas and often burst their banks.
But extreme weather has become more frequent, and environmentalists warn that climate change could lead to even more serious disasters.
Crop damages worth Tk 500 crore in Sylhet
The recent flooding has caused crop damage of roughly Tk 500 crore in the Sylhet division based on estimates received thus far, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).
The floods have submerged approximately 90,000 hectares of cropland, including over 65,000 hectares of Aush paddy, 15,000 hectares of T-Aman paddy, and roughly 7,500 hectares of vegetables.
Some 190,000 hectares of cropland are spread across the four districts in the Sylhet division, which means almost half of this area has been submerged.
DAE Additional Director (Sylhet region) Mosharraf Hossain Khan confirmed the matter to The Business Post and expressed concern that the extent of the damage is likely to increase.
He said the agriculture sector in Sylhet has been hit hard by the flooding. “We have suffered a loss of about Tk 500 crore in crop damage.”
“Although it is not yet possible to determine the exact extent of the damage, it is anticipated that it will grow given that floodwaters were still rising in many areas,” he added.
In Sylhet district, 26,679 hectares of Aus paddy and 2,665 hectares of vegetables have been submerged. In Habiganj, 15,710 hectares of Aush paddy, 1,597 hectares of vegetables, and 14,630 hectares of T-Aman paddy have been submerged.
In Moulvibazar, 11,741 hectares of Aush paddy, 808 hectares of vegetables, and 362 hectares of T-Aman paddy have been submerged.
In Sunamganj, 11,403 hectares of Aush paddy and 2,400 hectares of vegetables have been submerged.
Flood claims 24 lives in 24 hrs; Death toll now 68
A total of 24 people have died due to floods in different parts of the country in the last 24 hours, raising the total fatalities to 68.
Of them, 23 are from the Sylhet division alone, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Among the deceased, 20 people died by drowning in floodwater, two died in lightning strikes and one died of diarrhoea. The deaths were recorded from May 17 to June 23.
Among a total of 185 flood-affected upazilas, 29 are in the Sylhet division, 16 in the Rangpur division, 19 in the Mymensingh division and one in the Chattogram division.
Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona, and Kurigram are the worst-hit districts, where 13, 11, 10 and 9 upazilas were affected by floods, respectively.
A total of 872 flood shelters have been opened, while 2,006 medical teams are working to provide various health services to the flood-affected people.
Flight operations at Sylhet airport resume
Flight operations at MAG Osmani International Airport in Sylhet resumed Thursday following a six-day pause, triggered by the devastating floods in the country’s northeastern region.
“Flight operations have resumed at the airport. All activities are being operated normally,” Manager of the MAG Osmani International Airport Hafiz Ahmed told BSS.
As the runways and street lights in the airport’s approach area began to flood on June 17, the authorities suspended flight operations at the airport for three days, he said, adding that the flight suspension was later extended for additional days as the flood situation worsened.
Flood situation improving in north, northeast
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) bulletin said that the Brahmaputra-Jamuna, Dharala, Dudhkumar and all the major river of the north-eastern region of the country (except the Titas) may continue falling, while the Ganges-Padma River may remain steady in the next 48 hours.
“In the next 48 to 72 hours, there is a chance of medium to heavy rainfall in the sub-Himalayan West Bengal (Jalpaiguri, Sikkim). As a result, the water level of the Teesta river may rise and remain near danger level,” the FFWC bulletin added.
The flood situation in the Sylhet, Sunamganj, and Netrokona districts may improve, while in the Kishoreganj and Brahmanbaria districts it may remain unchanged in the next 24 hours, the forecasting centre added.
In the next 24 hours, the flood situation in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogra, Serajganj, Tangail, and Jamalpur may improve, according to the FFWC statement while there is a chance of short-duration flood in the low-lying areas of Rajbari, Shariatpur and Madaripur districts in next 24 hours.
