Flash Floods: Compassion for the Victims
Heavy rains and flash floods from the upstream have left millions of people in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts stuck and a large number of them are without power. Around 90 percent of Sunamganj and over 60 percent of Sylhet have been submerged, according to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC).
All regional highways, including Sylhet-Sunamganj and Sylhet-Bholaganj, have been submerged and road connectivity has already been snapped due to the intensity of flooding. Many locals considered the flood worse than the ones they had experienced in 1998 and 2004.
Meanwhile, the flood situation in the northern parts of the country, especially Kurigram and Lalmonirhat, also worsened as water in all three rivers in those districts swelled. In the north-eastern parts, there is a rising trend in water levels of all major rivers.
According to the FFWC, the flood situation in Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrakona districts may deteriorate further in the next 24 hours. The water level will continue to rise for the next three days.
The worst flooding in years forced the authorities on Friday to close MAG Osmani International Airport in Sylhet and the educational institutions in the affected areas.
Due to the floods, the education ministry postponed Secondary School Certificate and equivalent exams across the country scheduled to begin on Sunday.
A crisis of daily necessities and medicine is getting worse as stores are being inundated. The support system has collapsed in the region.
The army is engaged in the rescue operation, efforts to select temporary shelters and ensure food, drinking water and medical services for the people, and to help the civil administration protect food, and power stations and other key establishments.
Bangladesh Labour Foundation (BLF) is apprehensive and distressed for the flood victims. BLF expects flood victims to be rescued quickly and their food and shelter to be ensured.