Urgent humanitarian aid needed in flood-hit northeast

More than 72 percent of Sylhet division is under water. Out of four districts in Sylhet division – 89 percent area of Sunamganj, 72 percent of Sylhet, 70 percent of Habiganj, and 50 percent of Moulvibazar was submerged.

Heavy rains and rush of water from upstream in India's northeast have started flooding Habiganj, after Sunamganj and Sylhet have been submerged.

Thousands of people in Sylhet and Sunamganj are waiting to be rescued from floodwater. But their relatives cannot make the rescue trip on vessels due to excessive boat fares being charged in this dire situation.

The authorities of Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (SUST) have postponed all classes and exams till June 25 after some parts of the campus were inundated due to the ongoing floods.

Worsening floods in Sunamganj and Sylhet districts have resulted in power outages, closure of many schools as they have been turned into makeshift flood shelters, and vast areas being inundated, with locals saying the flood is worse than the ones they experienced in 1998 and 2004.  

Members of Bangladesh Army have been deployed to manage the heavy flooding and its aftermath in Sylhet and Sunamganj.

With rivers in Sylhet and Sunamganj still flowing above the danger level, fisheries and crop farms have been bearing the brunt.

Around 657 kilometres of 153 roads in Sylhet and Suamganj have been submerged due to flood as the water of the river Surma and Kushiyara is still flowing above the danger level.

Water level in the Surma and Kushiyara rivers receding at four points provided some relief to people in flood affected areas of Sylhet and Sunamganj but they are afraid of more rain and long-term waterlogging.

A total of 873 primary and secondary schools, madrasas and colleges have been closed in Sylhet and Sunamganj as the flood situation in the two districts worsened due to continuous rain.

With three major rivers -- the Surma, Kushiyara and Sari-Gowain -- swelling beyond the danger level, the flood situation in Sylhet district has worsened in seven upazilas and the Sylhet city area.

Nearly 2.5 lakh people are marooned and two hundred schools are shut down due to the onrush of water from the upstream and heavy rainfall triggered by monsoon over the last one week in Sylhet and Moulvibazar.

Flash floods triggered by heavy rain and hailstorms have damaged Boro paddy massively in the haor areas of Sunamganj and Sylhet.