The tin-shed house of Selim Mia, a Haji Para resident in Sunamganj, went underwater on Thursday afternoon. He took shelter, along with his family, at a two-storey building owned by his neighbour, bdnews24.com reports.
"I have never seen such a terrible flood in Sunamganj in the 50 years of my life. The whole town is inundated. There is no place left for people to take refuge. A shelter is now more important than aid," he said.
The overflowing Surma River has worsened the flooding situation in the northeastern district of Sunamganj, inundating almost all houses and disrupting the power supply.
"Army personnel have launched efforts to evacuate people marooned by the flood in Sylhet. They will extend the service to Sunamganj as soon as possible. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked us to take support from the Bangladesh Navy as well," Sylhet Divisional Commissioner Md Mosharraf Hossain said.
Heavy rains in Meghalaya and Assam and an onrush of mountain runoffs flooded Sunamganj town on Thursday, leaving thousands of people without power at night. The authorities cut off the power supply to avoid further issues due to the floods.
Several upazilas, including Sunamganj Sadar, Chatak, Doarabazar and Shantiganj are now flooded, seemingly disconnected from the rest of the country. Mobile networks are also not working in the district.
A crisis of daily necessities and medicine is getting worse as stores get inundated. The overall support system has collapsed in the region.
"No place is left for people to take shelter," Sunamganj Municipality Mayor Nader Bakht said.
"The entire town is flooded. People are stuck at home. We are trying our best to rescue them. We need more boats now."
It has been raining in Sunamganj since Thursday. The met office has forecast more rain on Friday, which might worsen the flood situation in Sunamganj, Sylhet and Netrokona, the Bangladesh Water Development Board's Flood Forecast and Warning Centre said.
The authorities recorded 650mm of rain in India's Meghalaya state on Wednesday which worsened the flood situation in Bangladesh, said Md Shamsudduha, a sub-divisional engineer at BWDB.
"The floods have brought a disaster for all of us. At least nine upazilas and the district town in Sunamganj are flooded now. The administration is working to move the people to safety, but the situation has worsened a lot."
Local volunteers joined government officials to speed up the evacuation process but they could do little as roads were inundated.
"We need army personnel and more boats right now for rescue operations. Women, children and older people are facing difficulties after getting stranded at home. We need to rescue them on an emergency basis," volunteer Sohan said.
"No mobile call is possible due to the power cut. It's a horrible situation here. People need shelter and food," said Natun Para resident Iqbal Kagzi, who took refuge at a neighbour's house after his flooded.
"The authorities have disconnected the power supply after flood waters entered the Chatak and Sunamganj grid substations," the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources said in a Facebook post.
"Kumargaon Substation is also at risk due to rains. The authorities may close this substation at any time," the ministry added.
The Surma was flowing 108 cm, 70 cm and 120 cm above the danger level at the Kanaighat, Sylhet and Sunamganj points respectively at 9 am on Friday, the BWDB's Flood Forecast and Warning Centre said.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall was also predicted for the northern and northeast parts of Bangladesh and the adjoining Assam, Meghalaya and Himalayan foothills of India's West Bengal in the next 72 hours.
The water level will continue to surge in all major rivers in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna and Ganga-Padma basins, including the Surma, Kushiyara, Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar in the next 48 hours.
The flood situation may worsen further in Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrokona in the next 24 hours. The Teesta River could overflow the danger level by then. Low-lying areas in Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangpur and Kurigram may also flood due to the rains.
