Floods inundate 40 villages in Habiganj

At least 40 villages in three of its upazilasin Habiganj were inundated .

After floods inundated Sylhet and Sunamganj, two days of incessant rain and runoff from upstream have caused the Kushiara River to overflow its banks in the Habiganj district and flood at least 40 villages in three of its upazilas.
Residents from remote areas are being relocated and given dry food after the waters started to rise in Ajmirganj, Nabiganj and Baniachong, said Habiganj Deputy Commissioner Israt Jahan.
If the waters continue to rise, more areas are at risk of flooding, she said.
The floodwaters have overflowed the dams in Ajmirganj and Nabiganj and flooded the roads in Ajmirganj, said Minhaz Ahmed Shovon, deputy division engineer of the Habiganj Water Development Board.
“As the rain has continued, the waters have continued to rise. It might worsen the flooding situation.”
According to the Flood Forecast and Warning Centre, the waters on the Kushiara are flowing 160 cm above the danger point at Amalshid and 63 cm above the danger point at Shaola Point.
Continuous rain from early on Friday led to the Kushiara breaching its embankments, said Shovon. The water entered the haor area, covering the Ajmirganj-Paharpur and Kakailsao Union Road, cutting off the road connections between Habiganj and two unions.
The rain continued overnight into Saturday morning. The river then breached the dams at Nikhlir Dhala on the Paharpur-Markuli Road in Ajmirganj and the Koiar Dhala on the Firozpur-Badalpur Road. The water then rushed into the locality and flooded village after village, said engineer Shovon.
At least 150 families in the Adarshanagar, Joynagar, and Shareefnagar areas of the Ajmirganj municipal area are stranded by the waters, he said. The water has also risen in numerous villages in Natunbari, Firozpur, Paharpur, Kakailsao, and the Markuli area.
“The situation is being monitored,” said Shafiqul Islam, an assistant commissioner of Ajmirganj Upazila. “All educational institutions in the upazila have been declared shelters. The upazila administration is conducting flood rescue operations and trying to arrange food for flood victims.”
At least 10 villages have been inundated in Nabiganj’s Inatganj Union, according to local council chairman Md Noman Hossain.
About 300 people have been evacuated to shelters so far, but the situation may worsen, he said. Some low-lying parts of Baniachong Upazila have also flooded.
The Habiganj district administration has prepared 40,000 packets of dry food for flood victims. The packets contain flattened rice, puffed rice, biscuits, sugar, water purification tablets, oral saline, candles and matches.
Thirty thousand of these packets are reserved for Habiganj, while the remaining packets have been divided equally and sent to Sylhet and Sunamganj.
The district administration has taken 'all preparations’ to handle the situation, Deputy Commissioner Israt Jahan said. Anyone requiring food can contact the 333 hotline to be delivered food from the district administration.