Sylhet flood situation improving, no chance of heavy rain in next 2 days

The overall flood situation in Sylhet has further improved as rainfall has decreased over the past two days. 

According to the Met Office, there is no forecast of heavy rainfall across the country, including the Sylhet region, for the next two days.

On Saturday, river water was above the danger level at seven points in the country’s northern region, including Sylhet. 

However, the water levels are gradually receding. If weather conditions remain normal, the water in all the rivers is expected to fall below the danger level within the next 2-3 days.

Meanwhile, the water in most of the flooded areas of Sylhet city has receded. On Saturday morning, the Surma River’s water level was below the danger line at the Sylhet city point. But the Surma and Kushiara rivers are still flowing above the danger level at some points. 

Sarder Udoy Raihan, executive engineer at the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (BWDB), told The Business Standard, “On Saturday, river water was flowing above the danger level at seven points in the country. However, over the past two days, water levels at these points have been gradually decreasing. If this trend continues, the water levels will fall below the danger level within the next 2-3 days.”

Saturday evening, the water level at the Kushiyara River’s Markuli Point was more than 34 cm above the danger level. The Someswari River was flowing 33cm above the danger level, the Teesta River 3cm above, the Surma River 31cm above, and the Old Surma River 23cm above the danger level, according to the BWDB data. 

It may take another seven days for the flood situation to return to normal. However, if there is very heavy rainfall, the flood situation may worsen, Raihan said. 

He attributed the worsening flood situation in Sylhet to the excessive upstream water, which has exceeded the rivers’ capacity. 

“While river water levels in Sylhet are expected to continue decreasing over the next 4-5 days, the northern areas may experience a rise again after 2 days, before returning to normal,” he told TBS. 

In a forecast from Saturday morning, the BWDB said the Brahmaputra River is in a falling trend, while the Jamuna and Padma rivers are in a rising trend. Major northeastern rivers are also in a falling trend. 

Md Bazlur Rashid, a meteorologist at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), said there is little chance of heavy rainfall in Sylhet region for the next 2-3 days, but isolated rainfall in other parts of the country won’t have much effect on the rise of river water levels. 

By the end of this week, there is a possibility of heavy rainfall in different parts of the country, the meteorologist predicted. 

In its regular weather forecast, the BMD said light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind are likely to occur at most places over Rangpur, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions; at a few places in Chattogram division and at one or two places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna and Barishal divisions with moderately heavy to heavy falls at places over Rangpur, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions.

The highest rainfall on Saturday was recorded in Tangail, with 108mm. In contrast, Sylhet recorded only 2mm of rainfall in the 24 hours since Friday evening, while Dhaka recorded 15mm during the same period.