Shawdesh desk:

At least three people were killed and thousands evacuated as the flash flood sweeping through parts of northern Bangladesh worsened, prompting authorities to seek help from the military in their rescue effort hampered by a serious lack of rescue gears such as boats and life jackets.

A man was washed away and died while he was trying to move to shelter wading through the floodwater with very strong current, confirmed authorities, who also said that the two other deaths occurred after a house, weakened by floodwater, collapsed and crushed its inhabitants.

All the three deaths occurred in Nalitabari upazila in Sherpur. The flood situation in Sribardi and Jhinaigati upazilas of the district bordering India’s hilly Meghalaya state remained unchanged. Nakla, the fourth upazila in the district, also got hit by the flash flooding on Saturday.

‘At least nine shelters have been opened in Nakla,’ said Torofdar Mahmudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Sherpur, after confirming the deaths.

‘The army joined rescue effort in the morning,’ he said.

After the flash flood hit on Friday, Torofdar raised alarm about not having enough boats to rescue thousands of people stuck in their homes amidst dangerously swelling rivers—up to 21 feet in 24 hours.

Torofdar ordered the construction of rafts after managing to gather only four boats.

The district is home to 10 lakh people, most of whom are affected by the flood.

Reports revealed that the floodwater reached ceiling of houses in some places, forcing people to take shelter on the roofs amid continued very heavy rain.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department issued a heavy to very heavy rainfall warning effective for 24 hours starting at 9:00am on Saturday, particularly over the divisions of Dhaka, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Barishal and Chattogram,  saying that the rainfall could trigger landslide in the hilly areas of Chattogram division.

The forecast of very heavy rainfall became the source of fresh worry for the people in coastal regions, including Noakhali, Feni and Cumilla districts, where they are still reeling from the last flash flood that hit in late August.

Some of the coastal regions remain waterlogged since August when a similar spell of flash flooding, triggered by extreme rain, hit.

In the 24 hours until 6:00pm on Saturday, Bangladesh’s highest rainfall of 282mm was recorded in Chandpur, the BMD said, reporting 151mm of rainfall in Madaripur, 138mm in Narayanganj and 118mm of rainfall in Netrakona.

New Age correspondent in Noakhali reported waterlogging in parts of the district town following heavy rain.

In the 24 hours until 6:00pm on Saturday, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said that 186mm rain was recorded in Durgapur in Netrakona district.

The FFWC warned that the Kangsha, Jinjiram, Someswari and Old Brahmapura rivers were rising. The Bhugai and Jinjiram were flowing above their danger marks in Sherpur and Jamalpur. The flood situation in the low-lying areas of the districts of Sherpur, Jamalpur, Mymensingh and Netrakona might end two days later.

New Age correspondent in Mymensingh reported that 50 villages were flooded in Haluaghat and Dhobaura upazilas, leaving tens of thousands of people marooned.

Power connections to these upazilas remained suspended on Saturday.

Around 700 people in the district had been moved to government flood shelters.

The heavy current washed away flood protection embankments in many places and the flash flood is likely to cause prolonged waterlogging in some affected areas.

The district office of the Department of Agricultural Extension said that the flood inundated 15,438 hecatres of paddy fields. The extent of the damage is likely to rise.

Dhobaura upazila nirbahi officer Nishat Sharmin said that 15,000 people were left stranded in the upazila.

Haluaghat upazila nirbahi officer Md Ershadul Ahmed said that around 700 people had taken refuge to governments shelters.

The United News of Bangladesh reported that heavy and torrential rains since Friday morning inundated the main roads and lanes in Chandpur town, causing suffering to commuters and disrupting normal life.

Incessant rain triggered waterlogging and traffic gridlocks in different parts of the capital on Saturday, disrupting normal life, the UNB reported.

As many of the private offices remain open on Saturday, office goers faced hurdle to reach their destinations due to lack of transport.

The meteorological department predicted light to moderate rain accompanied by temporary gusty wind at many places over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions, at few places over Dhaka, Khulna and Barishal divisions and at one or two places over Chattogram division within 6:00pm today.

The India Meteorological Department put Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh under orange alert today for potential heavy rain. Orange is the third level of alert used by the IMD indicating that people should prepare for potentially disastrous situation.

In the 24 hours until 8:30am on Saturday, the India Meteorological Department reported very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over a vast region in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur.

Compared with the average rain for the day, the IMD said that Arunachal’s Upper Subansiri recorded 4,525 per cent excessive rainfall, followed by 887 per cent excessive rain recorded in Changland.

West Khasi hills received 1,242 per cent excess rain over the same time, the IMD said, adding that south-west Khasi Hills recorded 934 per cent excessive rainfall beside many other areas receiving around 500 per cent excessive rain.

A similar trend of rainfall was observed in some places of Nagaland and one or two places in Manipur.

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority suspended vessel movement in the coastal areas, citing inclement weather and the issuance of local cautionary signal No-3 at all four seaports.