Home ›› 22 Jun 2022 ›› Opinion
Bangladesh is deeply worried about the deteriorating flood situation in the northeastern region of the country which comes hard on the heels of a flash flood that hit it a few weeks ago. This time, the crisis is unfolding on a larger scale. Most of Sylhet and Sunamganj districts have reportedly gone under water. New areas are being inundated at a pace that has surprised many, with as many as 17 districts now feared to be in danger. The flood was triggered on recently by heavy rains and water flowing from upstream India’s Meghalaya and Assam, where record-breaking rainfall was recorded.
In Sylhet and Sunamganj, where the situation is particularly dire, more than 40 lakh people are said to have been marooned. Power connection has been cut off after all sub-stations in the districts were submerged by water. As time passes, the cry for rescue and relief is getting louder. Many flood-hit areas remain unreachable due to the high tide of water, despite efforts from Bangladesh Army and Navy which are helping with the rescue operations. The scenes of struggle and devastation emerging from these areas are disturbing, to say the least.At least 25 people died as floods cut a swatch across north-eastern India and Bangladesh, leaving millions of homes underwater. In India’s Assam state, at least nine people died in the floods and 2 million others saw their homes submerged in flood waters, according to the state disaster management agency. Lightning strikes triggered by the storms had killed at least 21 people in Bangladesh. Among them were three children aged 12 to 14 who were struck in the rural town of Nandail.
Another four people were killed when landslides hit their hillside homes in the port city of Chittagong. The Brahmaputra one of Asia’s largest rivers breached its mud embankments, inundating 3,000 villages and croplands in 28 of Assam’s 33 districts .Several train services were cancelled in India amid incessant rains over the past five days. In southern Assam’s Haflong town, the railway station was under water and flooded rivers deposited mud and silt along the rail tracks.In Bangladesh, districts near the Indian border have been worst affected. Water levels in all major rivers across the country were rising, according to the flood forecasting and warning centre in Dhaka, the capital. The country has about 130 rivers. The centre said the flood situation was likely to deteriorate in the worst-hit Sunamganj and Sylhet districts in the north-eastern region as well as in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Rangpur districts in northern Bangladesh. Schools have been turned into relief shelters to house entire villages inundated in a matter of hours by rivers that suddenly burst their banks.After waiting whole day on the roof of our home, a neighbour rescued us with a makeshift boat. My mother said she has never seen such floods in her entire life. Flight operations at the Osmani international airport in Sylhet have been suspended for three days as flood waters have reached the runway.Last month, a pre-monsoon flash flood, triggered by a rush of water from upstream in India’s north-eastern states.
Also hit Bangladesh’s northern and north-eastern regions, destroying crops and damaging homes and roads. The country was just starting to recover from that shock when fresh rains flooded the same areas again this week. Bangladesh, a nation of 160 million people, is low-lying and faces threats from climate change-related natural disasters such as floods and cyclones. According to the UN’s Intergovernmen- tal Panel on Climate Change,about 17%of people in Bangladesh would need to be relocated over the next decade or so if global warming persists at the present rate. Flooding is a natural phenomenon in our country that occurs on an annual basis. Every year, it causes serious social and economic losses and damages in different parts of the country. Because of chronic flooding, sufferings of people are beyond imagination. Presently, the country is yet again facing the calamity of flood that has befallen on three districts of Kurigram,Sylhet and Sunamganj However, despite its recurrent nature and devastation, it seems the authorities concerned have learnt no lessons in dealing with the natural calamity effectively. We know that Holland is the world’s most endangered nation as nearly a quarter of it lies below the sea level and another half sits less than a metre above. Two-thirds of the country is at risk of flooding. The situation in Holland sounds bleak, but the low-lying country has successfully tamed flooding. Its flood defence network is robust. It is a collection of concrete so huge that it took over 50 years to complete. Now, there has been no significant flooding in the country. We can easily emulate the example of the Netherlands to get rid of the curse of flooding.
The policymakers should device a comprehensive plan in this regard. Vulnerable dams and dykes are blamed for the country’s flooding. Here, dams are often designed with a very poor knowledge about extreme flooding events. Legend says that many years ago a fine young Dutch boy named Hans Brinker prevented a disastrous flood by plugging a dike with his finger for whole night braving severe cold and fear. The Dutch boy has taught us that awareness and preparedness are of utmost importance in preventing disasters and mitigating their impacts Necessary pre-and post-flood preparation can lessen by manifold the victims’ sufferings, damage to property and financial losses caused by the natural calamity. As flooding is a routine phenomenon, the authorities concerned should always keep adequate relief materials ready for distribution before it is too late.
Likewise, post-disaster rehabilitation activities should begin at the earliest to cope with the losses. There should be a continuous effort to keep the country safe from flooding. There should be a strong realisation that we have to do it together to protect lives and property. Heavy rains have caused widespread flooding in parts of Bangladesh and India, leaving millions stranded and at least 57 dead, officials say. In Bangladesh, about 2 million people have been marooned by the worst floods in the country’s north-east for nearly two decades. At least 100 villages at Zakiganj were inundated after floodwater rushing from India’s north-east breached a major embankment on the Barak River.M any parts of Bangladesh and neighbouring regions in India are prone to flooding, and experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events around the world.
Dozens of people were killed in India during the week in days of flooding, landslides and thunderstorms, according to local disaster management authorities. In Assam state, which borders Bangladesh, at least 14 people died in landslides and floods. Climate crisis threatens Bangladesh’s Sundarbans. Assam authorities said on Saturday that more than 850,000 people in about 3,200 villages had been affected by the floods, triggered by torrential rains that submerged swathes of farmland and damaged thousands of homes. Nearly 90,000 people have been moved to state-run relief shelters as water levels in rivers run high and large swathes of land remain submerged in most districts. An inundated house beside the banks of the overflown Surma River in Sylhet. More than three dozen people were injured in the unseasonal weather events that damaged hundreds of hectares of standing crops and thousands of fruit trees. Bihar has also suffered an intense heatwave this week, with temperatures reaching 40C.The trailblazing town welcoming climate refugees in Bangladesh.
In Zakiganj, Bangladesh, people were seen fishing on submerged roads and some residents took their cattle to flood shelters.All the furniture in widow Lalila Begum’s home was ruined, she said, but she and her two daughters were staying put, hoping the waters would recede within a day or two.Flood water has entered many parts of Sylhet city, the largest in the north-east, where another official said about 50,000 families had been without power for days. But officials said the broken embankment on the border at Zakiganj could only be fixed once the water level dropped.
Right now, the priority is to rescue the stranded people and deliver relief and medicine in the most-affected areas. We’re told that the situation may not improve immediately as heavy rains are expected to continue. This is bad news. The local administration should brace for a harder time and assess its preparedness. All schools and colleges on higher ground should be urgently prepared to accommodate the rising number of people requiring shelters, with sufficient provisions for food and medical aid. Power connection should be restored as soon as possible. Care should also be taken so that there is no food crisis in the districts. All state agencies in the affected areas should be geared toward the purpose of helping with the flood situation. Equally importantly, the authorities should look at the bigger picture and start devising ways to reduce, as much as possible, the risk of such floods in the future.
The writer is a UK based researcher. He can be contacted at rayhan567@yahoo.co.uk
