Over 772,000 children affected by flash floods in north-east Bangladesh: UNICEF

UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh Sheldon Yett today said UNICEF is "deeply concerned" about the devastating flood situation unfolding in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh.

"The rivers are flowing dangerously high, and the situation is expected to worsen over the next 24 to 48 hours," he said.

Over 2,000,000 people, including over 772,000 children, are already affected by flash floods and in urgent need of assistance, said the UNICEF Representative.

"As waters rise, children are the most vulnerable, facing heightened risks of drowning, malnutrition, deadly waterborne diseases, the trauma of displacement, and potential abuse in overpopulated shelters," Yett said in a statement.

He said their priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of children and adolescents.

Sylhet floods: Less rain offers some respite for victims

After being battered by heavy rains and hill torrents for the past few days, water levels in several rivers in Sylhet have started to recede, improving the flood situation in various areas.

According to the Water Development Board (WDB), as of 9:00am on Friday, the water level of the Surma River is flowing 16 centimeters above the danger mark at Sylhet point and 65 centimeters above the danger mark at Kanaighat point. On the other hand, the Kushiyara River is flowing 61 centimeters above the danger mark at Amalsid point, 13 centimeters at Sheola point, 1.2 centimeters at Fenchuganj point, and 24 centimeters at Sherpur point.

Except for a 0.1cm rise in the Kushiyara River at Fenchuganj point, water levels have decreased by a few centimeters at different points since Thursday evening.

Shah Mohammad Sajib Hossain, Assistant Meteorologist at Sylhet Weather Office, told UNB that in the last 24 hours, Sylhet experienced 20mm of rain. There was no rainfall from yesterday noon until Friday morning.

Meanwhile, the local meteorological department has forecast moderate to heavy rains in some parts of Sylhet due to active monsoon conditions. The ongoing rainfall is expected to continue for the next five days, said a bulletin on Thursday afternoon.

In the past three weeks, Sylhet city has been inundated five times due to heavy rains, affecting hundreds of areas and causing untold suffering to the dwellers.

At least seven lakh people of Sylhet city and district have been inundated over the past few days, forcing the authorities concerned to open shelter centres to relocate them.

Earlier, on May 29, heavy rains and hill torrents from upstream caused flooding in Sylhet. The flood situation began to normalize from June 8.

However, continuous rains starting from the early hours of June 17 led to another flood in the district.

Prior to this, in May, floods were caused by hill torrents and rains from upstream in India.