The flood situation in the country’s north-eastern districts has been improving as the water levels in several rivers in the Sylhet region have started to fall, while it has been worsening in Rangpur as Teesta was flowing over danger level.

A child was swept away by floodwater in Netrokona on Friday.

Over 20 lakh people, including over 7.72 lakh children, are already affected by flash floods and in urgent need of assistance, said UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh Sheldon Yett on that day.

UNICEF is “deeply concerned” about the devastating flood situation unfolding in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh, he said.

The flood situation in some low-lying areas of Netrokona, Sylhet, and Sunamganj districts in the north-eastern part of the country may improve, said Sarder Udoy Raihan Executive Engineer of Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB).

The water level of Dudhkumar, Teesta and Dharla rivers in the northern part of the country may rise. A short-term flood situation may emerge in some low-lying areas of Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts and the ongoing flood situation in some low-lying areas of the Rangpur district may deteriorate slightly, he said.

Water in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna river system is in a rising trend and may continue to rise for the next 72 hours with a chance of reaching the warning level at some points. The Ganges-Padma river system is also in a rising trend, which may continue for the next 72 hours, said the FFWC official.

He further said water levels in the north-eastern region’s major rivers are in a falling trend which may continue for the next 48 hours. According to the information of meteorological organisations, medium to heavy rainfall is expected in the northern and adjoining upstream parts of the country in the next 24 to 72 hours.

The Teesta, Surma, Kushiyara, and Old Surma rivers flow above the danger levels at some points.

Some parts of the Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions were likely to experience moderate rain with gusty wind or thunderstorms over the next 72 hours, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said in its forecast on Friday.

The highest rainfall recorded over the previous 24 hours of that day was 163 mm in Khulna’s Meherpur area.

BMD also recorded 87 mm of rain in Cox’s Bazar, 85 mm in Bagerhat’s Mongla area and 76 mm in Madaripur.

BMD’s five-day forecast showed the likelihood of more rain towards the end of the period.

One more child drowns in flood

A child died after drowning in floodwater at Ratakanda village of Najirpur union of Kalmakanda upazila in Netrokona on Friday.

The deceased was Rifat Hossain, 11, son of Abul Kalam.

Meanwhile, in Sylhet, the sun appeared in the sky on Friday as there was no rainfall, giving some respite to the people of the flood-hit area.

Deepak Ranjan Das, executive engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) Sylhet, said the water has started to recede a little as there was no rainfall on that day.

If there is no more rain and landslides, the situation will improve quickly, he said.

So far, flood has affected at least 10 lakh people in the area, as 21 wards in Sylhet City Corporation and 130 out of 143 municipalities and unions of the district were inundated due to the rise in water level of major rivers, reported our correspondent, citing the district administration sources.

“A total of 698 shelter houses were kept ready, where 17,285 people took shelter,” said Assistant Commissioner of Sylhet district administration Md Omar Sani. In Rangpur, the low-lying area at Kaunia has been marooned due to a huge onrush of water and rainfall.

Meanwhile, the water level of the Teesta river has continued to rise for the last three days, surpassing the danger level on Thursday, said sources.

At present, marooned villagers in the area are going through immense hardships, they added.