Incessant monsoon rainfall caused havoc in many parts of the country on Friday, triggering flash floods, leaving towns and villages waterlogged and highways swamped.
Thousands of people, including Rohingya refugees living in dangerous conditions on the hill slopes in Cox鈥檚 Bazar, have been left stranded in knee-deep water as rain continued without any break in parts of the country.
Travellers remained stuck on highways and roads, including on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, which went under water delaying traffic movements for hours.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department warned that the rain might let up today and the day after before it gradually picks up again, particularly after August 7.聽
鈥業 am surrounded by water all around. Water entered my kitchen and I could not cook meals since yesterday,鈥� said Anjuman Ara, a sexagenarian woman of Shaldhor village in Feni.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Feni reported that the Muhuri River was flowing 220cm above the danger mark at 3:00pm on Friday.
The Muhuri washed away embankments at places, submerging at least 10 villages and leaving hundreds of families stranded.
The onrush of water from the upstream streamed into villages through the cracks in embankments that left unrepaired since they appeared during the last spell of flooding in July.
The affected areas included Feni municipality, Fulgazi upazila and Chitholia.
鈥楾his is the second time flooding destroyed my rice seedbed,鈥� lamented Joynal Abedin, a farmer.
Roads in the Feni town remained waterlogged for hours on Friday, causing suffering to the city dwellers, who avoided going out on the weekend unless it was an emergency.
Continued rain left Feni residences on high alert, lifting rivers and threatening to cause breaches in many places along its 122km of embankments.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Noakhali reported that the coastal district witnessed the highest amount of rainfall recorded in two decades at 285mm of rainfall in the 24 hours until 3:00pm on Friday.
Water entered residences in Noakhali town where roads and thoroughfares remained waterlogged leaving hundreds of thousands of people stranded.
鈥楳aizdi town was literally washed away by rainwater due to rainfall since Thursday afternoon,鈥� said town resident Mahbubur Rahman.
Almost all important places and roads in the town were submerged in water.
The vehicular movement of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway was severely disrupted in the morning hours of Friday after parts of the highway in Mirsarai went under water.
Mirsarai upazila nirbahi officer Mahfuza Zerin said that water receded from the road in the afternoon after they cleared a blocked canal.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Cox鈥檚 Bazar reported that ceaseless rainfall since Monday brought immense sufferings to 7,000 families in the Rohingya refugee camps in Ukhia.
Parts of the refugee camps lay submerged in knee-deep water.
Hamid Hossain, a community leader of the Kutupalong Camp No 1, said that they were scared as the rain soaked so much into the hill that it could slide any time.
Last month Cox鈥檚 Bazar received Bangladesh鈥檚 highest rainfall of 309mm in 24 hours on July 11.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Barishal reported that most of the roads in the city were waterlogged.
In the 24 hours until 6:00pm on Friday, Bangladesh鈥檚 highest rainfall of 288mm was recorded in Feni, the meteorological department said.
Maizdi Court recorded 263mm of rainfall over the same period of time, while Rangamati recorded 222mm of rainfall and Bhola 206mm of rainfall. Dhaka recorded 46mm of rainfall over the period.
鈥楢fter a brief let up on Saturday and the two days afterwards, rain is likely to pick up, particularly in Chattogram, Sylhet, Mymensingh and Rangpur areas,鈥� said meteorologist Kazi Zebunnesa.
The meteorology department predicted rain at most places all over Bangladesh today.
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said that the Halda River flowed 12cm above its danger level at 3:00pm on Friday.
It, however, said that there was very little chance of any large-scale flooding in the first week of the month.
The India Meteorological Department reported up to 150mm of rainfall in parts of Bangladesh鈥檚 upstream with forecasts of heavy to extremely heavy rain through August 6.
