Over 700,000 marooned as flash floods wreak havoc in Bangladesh

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Flash floods triggered by incessant rainfall have left over 700,000 people marooned in Bangladesh, while inundating hundreds of villages and pushing the water levels of 14 rivers above the danger level, according to the media reports. The overall flood situation in Bangladesh has worsened in many districts in the country's north and north-eastern regions, causing immense suffering to people.

A total of 14 rivers were flowing above the danger level on Monday, according to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre.

In Jamalpur, Kurigram and Gaibandha, more than 500,000 people were left marooned until Tuesday morning as fresh areas were flooded, leaving people and domestic animals in a crisis situation, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

In Jamalpur, the Brahmaputra, called Jamuna in Bangladesh, was flowing 99 centimetres above the danger mark at Bahadurbad point, it said.

The floods triggered by incessant rains left around 300,000 people marooned in 30 unions and four municipalities.

Floodwater began to recede after the first phase of the flood when it had marooned around 400,000 people in 49 unions and eight municipalities in Jamalpur.

However, the flood situation again intensified in the past few days, the report said.

In Kurigram, around 200,000 people were marooned and the low lying areas in the basin of four main rivers in the district were flooded, it said.

Ariful Islam, the executive engineer of Kurigram Water Development Board (WDB), told the Dhaka Tribune that the Brahmaputra river would continue to rise until the next 48 hours but Teesta and Dharla would begin to recede.

"The district administration has allocated 100 tonnes of rice, Tk4 lakh (USD 4,718) and 1,800 packets of dry food and those are being distributed among the flood-affected people," said Mokhlesur Rahman, district's relief and rehabilitation officer Gaibandha.

In Gaibandha, over 1.2 lakh people have been affected due to the flood as the Teesta, Brahmaputra and Ghaghat rivers were flowing above the danger level on Monday.

"Water level of these three rivers will increase in the next two days," Rahman told The Daily Star.

Hundreds of families living in the Teesta Barrage area were evacuated, said Hafizul Islam, sub-divisional engineer of WDB at Teesta Barrage.

In Bogura, over 80,000 people have been hit by the flood as the Jamuna was flowing 46 cm above the danger level at the Sariakandi Mathurapara point on Monday, the report said.

Over one lakh people, who were hit hard by the first phase of the flood a few days ago, have been marooned again, it said.