Tens of thousands of people moved to flood shelters on Saturday as the deadly flash flood, sweeping through Bangladesh鈥檚 north-eastern, eastern and south-eastern regions for the sixth straight day, moved further inland, leaving behind gaping holes in flood protection embankments.
The influx of newly displaced flood victims to shelters dampened the hope stirred by the receding rivers among those who have been in the shelters for the last 3鈥�4 days.
The worst affected areas, including Feni, Cumilla, Noakhali and Chattogram鈥檚 Fatikchhari, lay submerged under several feet of water with hundreds of thousands of people still stranded in scores of villages without any access to electricity, mobile network coverage and adequate supply of food and water.
The death toll from the flood climbed to 20, the number of people affected by flood exceeded half a crore while the number of displaced exceeded three lakh in 12 districts, official estimates showed.
The rail link between Dhaka and Chattogram remained suspended for the third consecutive day while tailbacks stretched more than 100km stretching from Chattogram and Cumilla on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway caused by floodwater overflowing the rail tracks and the highway.
Nearly 10 lakh people remained without electricity in the worst affected areas where emergency responders still struggled to reach with help due to lack of boats, life jackets and other necessary resources.
Feni mostly remained out of reach for the third consecutive day.
鈥楾he flood moved into Cumilla鈥檚 interior,鈥� said Abed Ali, the district鈥檚 relief and rehabilitation officer, confirming that new localities were flooded on Saturday as floodwater gushed through the breached flood protection embankment along the Gumti River.
Around 54,000 people went to flood shelters in the district where the number of flood-affected people stood at 7,46,029.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Cumilla reported that the Gumti was threatening to sweep away flood protection embankments in many places, including in Aranyapur in Burichang upazila, where locals worked with government officials through Saturday to keep a crack from spreading.
The flood situation is compounded in Cumilla as India is reportedly releasing water from the Dumboor hydroelectric project, which is in the Gumti River basin.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Noakhali reported that floodwater receded several inches on Saturday in the district town but in areas, including Senbag and Companyganj, situation stayed unchanged.
Around 20 lakh people have been affected in Noakhali.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Chattogram, citing the highway police, reported that a huge tailback on the highway connecting Chattogram and Cumilla caused immense suffering to travellers and threatened to hit business hard with hundreds of good-laden trucks remained stranded there for almost two days.
Floodwater was still flowing with a lot of force over the highway at points in Feni, making it difficult for even heavy vehicle to pass through.
The rain link between Dhaka and Sylhet, however, was restored on Saturday after two days. The rail service between Sylhet and Chattogram remained suspended.
Chattogram district鈥檚 relief and rehabilitation office said that the number of people affected by the flash flood rose by several thousands to 2,75,080 in Fatikchhari upazila.
The flood spread to Mirsarai upazila on Saturday, inundating fresh areas and displacing many people.
The flooding in Fatikchhari is triggered by the water level rise in Halda River.
A fresh wave of fear and anticipation caught the dwellers in the Halda basin immediately after they came to know the authority鈥檚 decision to release an extra amount of 9,000 cubic feet of water per second from the Karnaphuli hydro-power project at Kaptai at 10:00pm on Saturday.
At present the Kaptai dam releases 32,000 cubic feet of water per second to produce electricity.
The water level in the Kaptai Lake reached 107.66 feet Mean Sea Level, close to the project鈥檚 water capacity of 109msl.
Authorities said that the release of the water was necessary for controlling flooding in both upstream and downstream.
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said that six rivers鈥擪usiyara, Manu, Gumati, Khowai, Feni and Muhuri鈥攚ere flowing above their danger marks at nine points at 6:00pm.
The Gumti was flowing 92cm above its danger mark.
Water management experts already warned that the draining of floodwater might take a while because of the rising sea level.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Moulvibazar reported food and water crisis in the flood affected areas in the district.
Fatik Miah, a resident of Medinimhal village of Rajnagar upazila, said that he did not get any relief and that he was starving along with his children.
Nahid Ahmad Tarafdar, chairman, Munsibazar union parishad of Kamalganj upazila, said that the government was distributing relief in shelters but there was a shortage of drinking water.
Rural Electrification Board鈥檚 distribution department said that 9.24 lakh customers were out of electricity coverage until Saturday.
Several thousand customers of the Power Development Board were also living without electricity for the last three days.
Power officials said that the furious flood swept away many of their electric poles and swamped their offices.
The ongoing rescue and relief effort is being carried out by the army, navy, air force, Border Guard Bangladesh, Fire Service and hundreds of volunteers.
Of the 18 deaths officially confirmed, Chattogram recorded five, followed by Cumilla witnessing four deaths, Cox鈥檚 Bazar and Noakhali recorded three deaths each, while Feni, Brahmanbaria and Lakshmipur recorded one death each.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Moulvibazar confirmed one more death. The deceased was identified as Sadiq Hossain Hriday, 19, who had gone missing while fishing in Rajnagar, and was found dead 33 hours later.
New age correspondent in Khagrachhari reported another death from drowning in Dighinala. The deceased was identified as Rusha Chakma.
The ongoing flash flood was triggered by heavy rainfall over a vast landscape stretching from Tripura to Bangladesh.
India Meteorological Department warned that the danger was still not over, predicting extreme rainfall in Tripura and Mizoram on August 26 and isolated heavy and very heavy rainfall across its northeast states in Bangladesh鈥檚 upstream through the last day of the month.
Bangladesh Meteorological Department also predicted light to moderate rainfall in many places across Bangladesh through August 26.
In the 24 hours until 6:00pm, Bangladesh鈥檚 highest rainfall of 143mm was recorded in Khulna鈥檚 Koyra.
The rest of the country, however, remained rather dry on Saturday with the sun shining over vast flooded landscapes.
The appearance of the sun and the recession in river water levels prompted may to come out of their shelters on Saturday after days, though it meant them wading through knee-deep water.
They were desperate to know if all of their relatives and friends had made it through the unprecedented disaster safe.
After the flash flood struck, driven by huge volume of water coming downhill the world鈥檚 tallest mountain, people just ran for safety, without looking back and in what they wore.