DHAKA, 31 August 2021, (TON): Flooding in the northeast of Bangladesh is likely to deteriorate further with heavy rainfall predicted in the next week, Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) Executive Engineer Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan told Dhaka Tribune.

He added “the water level of six rivers in the north of the country, including the Padma and Jamuna, was flowing over the danger line at nine points.”

According to FFWC sources “the flooding deteriorated in Tangail, Sirajganj, Rajbari, Pabnà and Manikganj districts as water continued to flow down from the north. However, water levels appeared to be stabilizing in Faridpur and Shariatpur districts.

In Tangail, lowlands in Sadar Upazila, Kalihati, Nagarpur, Bhunapur, Basail and Mirzapur Upazilas were inundated with water as dams overflowed. Fields of various crops, including Aman paddy, were submerged.

Sources at the Water Development Board (WDB) said “the Jamuna River had been flowing 8cm over the danger line at Raksha Dam point under Sirajganj district on Sunday, and it had risen to 33cm over the danger line in the space of 24 hours.”

The water level of the Padma River dropped from 55cm over the danger line to 45cm at Golanda point on Monday, but it rose from 30cm to 36cm at Sureshwar point over the same period.

Several thousand people in the northern districts have already been affected by the flooding, and little respite from the rain in the next seven days could lead to flooding in other districts as well, according to the FFWC.