Thousands suffer in floods, waterlogging

A warmer weather may be on its way after days of incessant rainfall and flash floods disrupted communication across the country, forecasters say.

The worst of the monsoon is over and the weather conditions would stabilise soon, Met officials said.

However, lakhs of people are living in a submerged state while thousands have lost their homes due to flooding, erosions and landslides triggered by the monsoon that swept across Bangladesh.

Roads in Madaripur, Gaibandha, Khulna, Sirajganj and Rajshahi remain waterlogged as of yesterday.

In Madaripur, villages remain waterlogged as the nearby Arialkhan and Kumar rivers are flowing above danger levels. Many families lost their homes to erosion by these two rivers.

Our local correspondent from Gaibandha said most major roads remain submerged marooning thousands of people. Rafts made of banana plants have become a preferred mode of transport.

Meanwhile, road communication with Bandarban finally resumed after three days. At least four thousand people reportedly lost their homes to landslides and flooding while 12 were injured from torrents of floodwater.

Flash flooding also washed away an alarming amount of crops and cultivated fishes.

In Sirajganj, some 2,500 hectares of Aman rice and 15 hectares of vegetables went under water, influencing the price of rice and vegetables in the district.

Meanwhile, Khulna saw fish worth Tk 41 crore being washed away in the rain and floodwater.

Our Khulna correspondent informed the district is looking at an estimated infrastructure damage of around Tk 3.87 lakh from the flash flooding.

Meanwhile, the skies remained relatively clear in Dhaka city, which saw a few spates of showers and light drizzles throughout the day.

Met officials recorded 5mm of rain in the capital yesterday saying the worst of the ongoing monsoon is over.

To the city dwellers' relief, the clouds cleared way for the bright sun at midday drawing to a supposed end to the non-stop rain over the last four days.

The rain clouds caused a rare full rainbow to appear at the horizon in afternoon.

Source : The Daily Star