Flood situation likely to worsen in Ganges, Brahmaputra basins again

The overall flood situation in the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins may deteriorate again as the water levels of the rivers of the basins continue to rise due to the onrush of waters coming from the upstream.

Water level in Brahmaputra-Jamuna river system may continue to rise, said latest flood outlook of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC).

Water level at Sariakandi station in Bogura and Elasin station in Tangail may increase while flood situation in Bogura and of Tangail is likely to continue in the next seven days, the FFWC said.

Water level at Chilmari station in Kurigram, Fulchari station in Gaibandha, Kazipur and Sirajganj stations and Bahadurabad station in Jamalpur may continue to rise but there is no probability of crossing the danger level in these stations in the next 10 days, the 10-day FFWC outlook said.

Ganges-Padma river system may steadily rise. Water level at Goalundo station at Rajbari, Bhagyakul station in Munshiganj and Sureshwar station at Shariatpur is likely to continue to swell.

As a result, flood situation in the low-lying areas of Rajbari and Shariatpur may continue for next seven days. Water level at Bhagyakul station in Munshiganj may cross the danger level by 20 August.

Rivers around Dhaka city is likely to go up while Lakhya river in Narayanganj would continue to rise and cross the danger level around 20 August, resulting in flooding of the low-lying areas of Narayanganj, the flood outlook said.

The Brahmaputra-Jamuna river system is in stable state and it may fall in the next 24 hours, while the Ganges river is in rising trend and the Padma is in steady state, which may remain same in the next 24 hours, according to the FFWC bulletin.

Major rivers of the upper Meghna basin in the country’s north-eastern region are in falling trend which may continue to decrease in the next 24 hours.

There is a chance of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the south-western and south-central coastal regions of the country in the next 24 hours. Rivers in these regions may rise rapidly during this time, the bulletin added.

Water level of many rivers in the Ganges basin continues to rise due to the onrush of floodwaters from upstream.

A rising trend of water level was recorded at Pankha, Rajshahi, Hardinge Bridge, Talbaria and Goalunda points this morning.

The Ganges river water went up by 14 centimetres at Pankha point in Chapainawabganj, seven cm at Rajshahi point, four cm at Hardinge Bridge point and 11 cm at Talbaria point in the last 24 hours ending at 9:00am today, superintending engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) Mukhlesur Rahman told the news agency.

He said the Ganges river was flowing 178 cm, 194 cm, 121 cm and 96 cm below the danger levels at Pankha, Rajshahi, Hardinge Bridge and Talbaria points respectively, while water level in the Padma river increased by four cm at Goalundo point and the river was flowing 17 cm above the danger level.

Of the 30 points monitored in the Ganges basin today, water levels went up at 15 points, while receded at 14 points and remained stable at one point.

Water level of the Korotoa river further declined by 23 cm at Chak Rahimpur point and 22 cm at Bogura point, while the river was flowing 219 cm and 304 cm below the danger level at the two points respectively this morning.

The Gur river was flowing one cm below the danger level at Singra point in Natore with a four cm fall afresh while the Atrai river was flowing six cm above the danger level at Baghabari point in Sirajganj.