Renewed floods triggered by incessant rain and onrush of water from upstream hills have inundated vast areas of Sunamganj for the second time in weeks, putting thousands of people in extreme misery.
People from Surma, Lakhsmipur, Bogula, Banglabazar, Norsingpur and Doara unions of Sunamganj Sadar upazila have been the worst hit by this flooding, said district officials.
Although water from the first round of flooding late last month is yet to receded fully, the latest blow came within just three weeks causing untold suffering for the people of the affected areas.
The affected people are enduring various water-borne diseases as the tube wells have submerged and the sanitation system has broken down in the flooded areas. Besides, road communications between Surma, Lakhsmipur, and Bogula unions and the upazila Sadar have been cut off due to the flooding.
Thousands of people incurred huge losses as their paddy and vegetable fields were inundated during last month’s flooding. Just when they started to recover from their losses, the latest bout of deluge has compounded their plight.
Most of the rivers running through the Sunamganj Sadar upazila were flowing above the danger mark until Friday morning. Increased water flow submerged most of the houses and roads of the upazila in the last 24 hours.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer(UNO) of Sunamganj Sadar Farzana Priyanka said that the district administration was keeping in touch with the Water Development Board (WDB) constantly. Besides, they’ve also kept their flood monitoring rooms open.
“The administration and the public representatives are always active to deal with any emergency. We’ve also stored up enough relief materials for the flood-affected people,” said Farzana.