According to a weather watch of the Flood Warning Centre yesterday, the flood situation in Dhaka, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Narsingdi, Narayanganj and Kishoreganj is likely to turn worse.

The spectre of floods looms over the low-lying areas on the outskirts of the capital because of the monsoon-swollen Buriganga and Shitalakhya. Much of Bashabo, Manda, Mugda, Pubail and Badda went under water yesterday.

An official estimate says the floods triggered by heavy rains and onrush of swirling inflow of water from upstream have affected as many as 795 unions in 131 upazilas of 26 districts, leaving around 35,54,746 people of 7,43,893 families marooned.

In a sign of inundation of new areas, at least 20 villages in Barisal and another 10 in Bhola were swamped with floodwaters, cutting off thousands of people from help or forcing hundred others to move to safety with their belongings.

The Bhola town protection embankment is under the threat of total collapse after it has lost some parts to the flooding, our Barisal correspondent reports. Vast tracts of land have been devoured by the Arial Kha, Joyonty and other branches of the Meghna, now in spate.

Char Mania, Boalia, Brojomohan, Baliatali, Chhabipur, Batamara, Alimabad, Jagorani and Selimpur, Purbo Bani Mardan, Manoshaganj and Gosherchar areas are among the worst affected areas in Barisal. Different villages in Ilisha, Dhania, and Shibpur in Bhola have also been submerged.

But in a reversal of the situation, the floodwaters slightly receded from Bera, Ishwardi, Sujanagar and Pabna Sadar in Pabna district, with the water level in the Padma and Jamuna lowering, said our Pabna correspondent.

The upazila nirbahi officer of Sujanagar told The Daily Star that the floods affected 1,775 families and submerged 3,478 hectares of croplands in the last four days.

GAIBANDHA

With a further five-centimetre rise in the Karotoa waters, the flood situation in western Gaibandha nosedived, our Gaibandha correspondent adds. Twelve-year-old Biddut of Nayanpur village in Palashbari upazila drowned in floodwaters.

The district administration said the floods affected over 73,000 families of 57 unions in seven upazilas and 4,816 hectares of land and 14,380 houses were damaged in Gaibandha.

Ten villages in Kishoregari union and five villages at Hossainpur union in Palashbari upazila were inundated yesterday after a breach opened in the Karotoa embankment at Nayanpur.

The food and drinking water crises hit the marooned people in Gaibandha. Khairuzzaman, chairman of Haldia union in Shaghata upazila said he received only one tonne of grains as relief, what he called too inadequate for so many people.

HARIRAMPUR

Official sources said the floods in Harirampur upazila in Manikganj, one of the worst-hit districts, turned severe, swamping Ajim Nagar, Sutalori, Dhulshura, Lesraganj, Harukandi and Boyra, Kanchanpur and Balla and affecting over one lakh people.

The damage of about 9,000 houses, 160km road, 16km embankment, 21 bridges and culverts and crops on over 20,000 acres and 47 cattle deaths were reported. Part of Diabari Government Primary School and a high school in the same area went under water.

NAOGAON

The flood situation in Naogaon deteriorated. The Water Development Board explained that the fresh floods came as waters of the main rivers entered some tributaries in Naogaon in a downstream recession, said our roving correspondent.

The flood control embankment of Pachupur in Atrai upazila in Naogaon broke at Ujanpara point on Wednesday, inundating eight villages and affecting 300 families.

GENERAL RIVER CONDITION

The Brahmaputra-Jamuna registered further fall at all points except at Aricha where it remained steady. The Ganges-Padma registered further rise at upstream points while the river receded slightly or remained steady at downstream points. Other rivers in the two basins registered rise and fall. The rivers in the Meghna basin also registered rise and fall. Most of the river in the southeastern hill basin receded further. Of 85 monitoring stations, 34 points recorded rise, 30 points recorded fall, three points remained steady and 19 points are flowing above the danger level in the last 24 hours.

MEETING

An inter-ministerial Disaster Management and Coordination Committee meeting yesterday discussed the overall flood situation and preparedness for the worse.

The government alerted the district administration to the outbreak of water-borne diseases, said Disaster Management and Relief Secretary ABM Mozharul Haque.