Sylhet, Bangladesh- Nine people have died after they were struck by lightning due to the current flash floods that have been causing havoc in the country.
According to Hafiz Ahmed, the airport manager, flight operations at Osmani International Airport have been suspended for three days as floodwaters have almost reached the runway,
However, the flooding is likely to deteriorate in the worst-hit Sunamganj and Sylhet districts in the northeastern region as well as in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Rangpur districts in northern Bangladesh.
Last month, a pre-monsoon flash flood, triggered by a rush of water from upstream in India’s north-eastern states, hit Bangladesh’s northern and north-eastern regions, destroying crops and damaging homes and roads. The country was just starting to recover from that shock when fresh rains flooded the same areas again this week.
According to local sources, tens of thousands of residents have taken shelter at different government houses and other concrete settlements, crossing a long way on foot as a vehicular movement in most of the areas has been completely disrupted and a huge number of people are still looking for shelters.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh army, navy and coast guard, who have joined the local administration in relief works, are working to move the stranded people to safe places as thousands of residents in many low-lying areas are still stranded with kids and aged family members.
“The situation is very alarming. More than two million people are now marooned by flood water. People have taken shelter on their boats. We have deployed the army and we are trying to evacuate them. This is one of the worst floods in the region’s history. The situation will worsen in the next three days,” said Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain, Sylhet’s region chief administrator.
Floods are a regular menace to millions of people in low-lying Bangladesh, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency, ferocity and unpredictability.
