Monsoon rains: Short-term flood may hit parts of country in Sept

At a time when the country is still recovering from last month’s devastating floods, the Met office has issued a warning about potential short-term flooding in certain northern, northeastern, and southeastern areas due to heavy monsoon rains this month.
However, the overall rainfall in the country is expected to remain at typical levels in September, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
“One or two low-pressure systems may form over the Bay of Bengal, with the potential for one to develop into a monsoon depression.”
September rainfall predictions indicate that Sylhet division may experience 365-450mm of rain, Chattogram 285-350mm, Rangpur 375-460mm, and Rajshahi 285-345mm. Other regions, including Khulna, Barishal, Dhaka, and Mymensingh, are expected to receive between 250mm and 385mm of rainfall.
The forecast was made during yesterday’s BMD’s expert committee meeting on long-term weather predictions.
In August, Bangladesh experienced 46.2 percent more rainfall than usual. The national average rainfall in August is 612mm over 22 days.
The highest rainfall in the last 24 hours was recorded at 276 mm in the Maijdee Court area, Noakhali.
FLOOD DEATH TOLL RISES
A total of 67 people, including seven women and 18 children, died in the recent floods in nine districts till yesterday, the disaster management and relief ministry said in its latest release.
Of them, 26 people died in Feni, 17 in Cumilla, 11 in Noakhali, six in Chattogram, three in Cox’s Bazar, and one each in Moulvibazar, Lakshmipur, Brahmanbaria, and Khagrachhari.
Besides, one person in Moulvibazar remains missing.
The situation in Chattogram, Khagrachhari, Habiganj, Sylhet, Brahmanbaria, and Cox’s Bazar districts is normal while the overall flood situation in Moulvibazar has improved.
Meanwhile, the flood situation in Feni, Comilla, Noakhali, and Lakshmipur districts is improving.
FENI HOSPITAL AT OVERCAPACITY
The Feni District Sadar Hospital is struggling to cope with a sharp rise in patients admitted with waterborne diseases.
The 18-bed diarrhoea ward is currently at overcapacity, and as a result, patients are being treated on the hospital premises and even on the floors of the administration building, reports our correspondent.
According to hospital data, 210 patients were admitted to the ward as of last morning, far exceeding its capacity.
During a visit to the hospital, this correspondent observed staffers treating patients on the open field in front of the diarrhoea ward.
Nasima Akhtar, a resident of Feni’s Lalpol area, had been at the hospital with her two-year-old daughter, Rabeya Sultana, since Saturday morning.
Due to the lack of available beds, her daughter was treated on the field.
“When I arrived, the ward was already full of patients. I had to find a mattress and settle on the field to get my daughter treated,” she said.
To handle the influx of patients, many of whom came from flood-affected areas, the hospital authorities converted the sixth floor of a new building into a temporary diarrhoea ward.