Floods: Habiganj unchanged, Moulvibazar worsening

The flood situation in Habiganj remained unchanged till Friday morning, while it worsened in neighbouring Moulvibazar district as new areas are being inundated, said authorities. 

In Habiganj, although the water levels in the Khowai River have slightly decreased, they continue to flow above the danger level at all points.

According to the Water Development Board’s control room, as of 9am Friday, the Khowai River’s water level is 191 cm above the danger level at Ballah Point, 153 cm at Shayestaganj and 165 cm at Machuliya in the Sadar upazila.

The flood was triggered by torrential rains over the past three days and water flowing in from India’s Tripura, causing widespread flooding and breaches in the Khowai Dam at Jalalabad and Laskarpur.

The District Disaster Management and Relief Office said that 22 unions across five upazilas in the district have been affected by the flood with 8,240 families stranded and 33,468 people affected.

A total of 116 shelter centres have been opened while only 140 people took refuge.

District administration has allocated 965 metric tonnes of rice, 1,560 packets of dry food and Tk 2, 327,500 in cash.

District’s Department of Agricultural Extension said that 373 hectares of aman seedbeds, 6,726 hectares of aman rice crops, 1,945 hectares of aush rice, and 468 hectares of vegetables have been destroyed.

Moreover, rail communication between Sylhet and the rest of the country has been suspended since Thursday afternoon due to safety concerns with the railway bridge over the Khowai River near Laskarpur,

In Moulvibazar, new areas are being inundated with the erosion of Kushiyara, Manu, Dhalai and Juri rivers

People on the banks of the river are worried again as the water level has risen while the water levels of the Dholai and Juri rivers are flowing above the danger level.

The Juri River is flowing about 2 meters above the danger level and the Dholai River is flowing 24 cm above the danger level.

Moreover, the water level of the Kushiyara River has increased by about 2 meters in the last two days. Besides, the Manu River is about 123 meters above the danger level.

The water level in the haor and rivers has increased after two days of continuous rain, making the common people concerned. However, the Water Development Board said that if the continuous rain stops, the water in the river will decrease.

Md Javed Iqbal, executive engineer of Moulvibazar Water Development Board, said the water level of the rivers has increased due to rains in Bangladesh and Tripura of India. When the rain relents, the water will go down.

Moulvibazar Deputy Commissioner Urmi Binte Salam and Army officer Maj Gen Chowdhury Azizul Haque Hazari visited the flood-affected areas on Thursday afternoon.