Staff Correspondent: Flooding continues to wreak havoc in the country’s northern and central regions, inundating fresh areas, washing away hundreds of houses and damaging crops on vast tracts of land. The water levels of the major rivers, including the Padma, the Jamuna and the Brahmaputra, were swelling and flowing downstream on Wednesday, posing a threat to low-lying areas of the capital, official sources said.
Over five million people have so far been marooned in 936 unions under 150 upazilas of 31 districts, according to National Disaster Response Coordination Center (NDRRC).

Flood-affected people have been living a very miserable life as they have become homeless and crisis of food and pure drinking water have multiplied their sufferings, locals said.

 “We are passing days in utter misery due to shortage of food and pure drinking water. We have lost everything in the flooding,” Abdul Jabbar, a flood victim, said.

Many flood-hit people have taken shelter on makeshift houses on high lands and roads and embankments as their homestead have been inundated by the flooding in 31 districts.

Local sources said the government has speed up relief distribution among the flood victims in the affected areas, but relief is too meagre to meet their demand.

Scores of houses, educational institutions, mosques and roads went under the gorge of rivers due to unabated river erosion, rendering thousands of people homeless.
Flooding has hit the upper central and central regions, including some low lying areas of Dhaka city, said Md Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan of Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (FFWC).

The flood situation is likely to remain static in Manikganj, Munshiganj, Faridpur, Madaripur, Chandpur, Rajbari, Shariatpur, Dhaka and Narayanganj districts, he said.

The water level of the Ganges increased by 2 centimeters each at Pankha point in Chapainawabganj and Hardinge Bridge point and 3 cm at Rajshah point while the water level of the Padma decreased by five cm at Goalunda point.

The Ganges river was flowing 164 cm, 156 cm and 75 cm below the danger level at Pankha, Rajshahi and Hardinge Bridge points respectively, the FFWC official added.

The water level of he Korotoa river increased by one cm at Bogura point while decreased by 24 cm at Chak Rahimpur. The river was flowing 146 cm and 29 cm below the danger mark at the two stations respectively in the morning.

Water level of the Jamuna decreased by 18 cm at Sariakandi in Bogura, 22 cm at Kajipur in Sirajganj and 13 cm at Sirajganj point and the river was still flowing 82 cm, 62 cm and 60 cm above the danger mark at Sariakandi, Kazipur and Sirajganj points respectively.

The FFWC sources said the water level of the Gur river decreased by one cm at Shingra point in Natore district and the river was flowing 90 cm above the danger mark.

The Atrai river was flowing 107 cm above the danger level at Baghabari point in Sirajganj district.

The water level of the Mohananda river further declined by three cm at Rohanpur point in Chapainawabganj and the river was flowing 79 cm below the danger mark.

The Atrai river was still flowing 11 cm above the danger mark at Atrai point in Naogaon while it was flowing 312 cm below the danger mark.

Of the 13 river points both in Ganges and Brahmaputra basins, water levels increased at three stations while decreased at nine stations and remained static at one point.The water level of almost all the rivers rose at 47 out of 101 points in the morning, FFWC sources said.

Seventeen major rivers are flowing above their danger mark  at 27 stations on Wednesday, it added.