Sylhet flood: 7 lakh people stranded amid continuous rain

Continuous heavy rainfall over the past three days has worsened the flood situation in Sylhet for the second time in just 20 days.

Nearly seven lakh people in the Sylhet metropolitan area and throughout the district are now stranded.

In the metropolitan area alone, 50,000 people across 21 wards have been affected by flooding, according to Sylhet district administration sources.

Sylhet experienced the first phase of flooding on 27 May, affecting approximately seven lakh people across all upazilas. The water had not fully receded when heavy rainfall and hill torrents hit again on 15 June, worsening the situation by Eid day (17 June).

Heavy rainfall on Eid-ul-Azha morning was briefly followed by a recession, but rain resumed from Tuesday dawn, causing significant overflows in all rivers and streams in Sylhet. On Eid day, water levels were above danger points at two river locations. By Tuesday morning, water levels at four rivers were above danger points at six locations.

On Wednesday morning, water was flowing above danger levels at six points of three rivers. 

The Water Development Board in Sylhet reported that by 9am today, the Surma River at Kanaighat point was 91cm above the danger level. At another point in Sylhet, it was 31cm above the danger level. The Kushiyara River was flowing 46cm above the danger level at Amalshid, 92cm at Fenchuganj, and 12cm above the danger level at Sherpur point.

According to the district administration, 675,937 people in 13 upazilas, including the Sylhet metropolitan area, have been stranded till midnight.

Of them, 50,000 people of 21 wards out of 42 in the Sylhet metropolitan area are stranded.

A total of 627 shelter centres have been opened in the district. Of these, 80 are in the metropolitan areas. A total of 17,285 people have taken shelter in these centres. However, most people are not willing to leave their homes and go to shelters.

A total of 1,323 villages in 13 upazilas of the district have been inundated. The worst affected are – Gowainghat, Jaintapur, Golapganj, Companiganj, Kanaighat, Zakiganj, Biswanath, and Osmaninagar upazilas.

Low-lying areas of the city are particularly hard-hit, with the Shahjalal suburb completely submerged and water reaching neck level in many homes. Other severely affected areas include Jatrapur, Mendibagh, Shibganj, Raingar, Sobhanighat, Kalighat, Kamalgarh, Machimpur, Taltala, Jamtola, Kajirbazar, Madina Market, Akhaliya, and Mezortil. Several important roads in the city have also been flooded.

From 6am Tuesday to 6am Wednesday, the Sylhet Meteorological Office recorded 100mm of rainfall and 55mm from 6am to 9am today.

Moreover, the Met office forecasted continuous heavy rainfall for the next three days.

The district administration is actively working to rescue stranded individuals and has set up control rooms at the district collector's office and upazila executive offices to monitor the flood situation. Dedicated officers have been appointed in each upazila, and medical teams have been formed at union levels to provide health services to flood victims.

If the heavy rainfall persists, the flood situation in Sylhet is expected to deteriorate further.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Mohibbur Rahman, accompanied by the ministry officials, visited the flood-hit areas from a helicopter on Wednesday morning. He is scheduled to leave Sylhet for Dhaka this afternoon.