DHAKA, Aug 17, 2017 (BSS) – Onrush of waters in one three major river basins have shown a receding trend in the upstream but continued to swell the other two while experts said possibility if a massive deluge now depends on rainfall quantum in coming days.
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) today said the Brahmaputra in the north was receding but waters in the Ganges, covering the northwest, and Meghna basin in the northwest were still being inflated.
The water resources ministry, meanwhile, said 50 people died so far mostly from drowning as the rivers surpassed their bank lines inundating standing crops households and other infrastructures.
“One of the two major basins has started showing a trend of recession but other two are still being rising . . . we could just say that it is the quantum of rainfall which would determine the extent of deluge,” a FFWC official told BSS.
The hydrologists, however, said the flow of waters from three sides in the upstream would inflate the riverbeds in the central region including Dhaka before being discharged in the Bay of Bengal inundating vast tracts posing threats of infrastructure damages.
The parliamentary standing committee on water resources ministry today held a meeting which was informed that besides claiming 50 deaths the gashing waters so far flooded 22 out of 64 districts affecting at least 32 lakh people.
“The meeting was informed that the deluge affected one third part of 1900 kilometers embankment of the Water Development Board,” a Jatiya Sangsad secretariat statement said.
Experts feared the collapse of embankments could intensify the disaster as people feeling protected by such structures could suddenly be exposed to massive or deadly consequences.
“The crucial thing to be performed as preparedness to minimize damage is to protect and properly maintain the flood protection embankments which are in place . . . collapse of embankments could cause colossal damage,” leading water expert Professor Ainun Nishat warned.
The FFWC said the flood situation of 10 northern districts has improved as the major rivers marked fall in their water levels in different point following reduction of onrushing waters from the upstream during the period.
Water levels of the Brahmaputra marked a fall by 19cm at Noonkhawa of Sirajganj, 15cm at Chilmari of Kurigram and 13cm at Fulchhari of Gaibandha while its tributary Dharla marked fall by 22cm at Kurigram and Ghaghot by 10cm at Gaibandha points in 24 hours which ended this morning.
“The Teesta remained steady at Dalia, Jamuna marked a fall by 13cm at Bahadurabad and 4cm at Sariakandi and Punorvoba marked fall by 165cm at Dinajpur, Ich-Jamuna by 19cm at Phulbari and Tangon by 8cm at Thakurgaon points during the period,” it said.
The improving trend might continue with the recession in water levels of the major rivers in all 10 flood-hit northern districts.
But the water level of Jamuna and Padma were rising in some middle points of the country, it said.
Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) records that water levels in two out of four river basins were rising.
Water level of the Jamuna marked little rise by 3cm at Kazipur and 4cm at Sirajganj points during the period. However, the Brahmaputra was flowing above its danger mark by 16cm at Noonkhawa, 64cm at Chilmari and 90cm at Fulchhari while Dharla 54cm above DM at Kurigram points at 9am today.
The Jamuna was flowing above DM by 121cm at Bahadurabad, 122cm at Sariakandi, 154cm at Kazipur and 152cm at Sirajganj and Ghaghot 73cm above DM at Gaibandha points at 9am today. The Jamuneswari was flowing above DM by 127cm at Badarganj and Kartoa by 24cm at Chak Rahimpur points at 9am today.