Flood alert issued for low-lying coastal areas

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre has warned that low-lying coastal areas may be inundated by tidal surges due to the combined effects of a depression over the Bay of Bengal and the new moon.

In its regular bulletin on Friday, the centre said that although normal tides were prevailing in the coastal rivers of the Barishal, Khulna, and Chattogram divisions, the influence of the weather system and the new moon could lead to wind-driven tidal surges 1 to 3 feet higher than usual.

According to the centre’s data, the Chattogram Division was lashed by heavy rains over the past 24 hours, but there was no significant rainfall in upstream areas. All major rivers across the country are currently flowing below the danger mark.

Earlier in the day, a trough of low over the northern Bay of Bengal intensified and turned into a depression near the coastal areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal. As a result, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over the next three days in the Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions, as well as in India's Tripura, Assam, and Meghalaya states upstream.

Meanwhile, the Gomti, Feni, and Selonia rivers in the Chattogram Division are swelling, while the water levels in the Muhuri, Halda, Sangu, and Matamuhuri rivers are receding.

Over the next three days, water levels in these rivers may increase. In particular, the Muhuri and Selonia rivers in the Feni district may rise above danger levels, potentially leading to flooding in the area.

During this period, rivers such as the Feni, Halda, Sangu, Matamuhuri, Rahmat Khali Khal, and Noakhali Khal in the Chattogram, Bandarban, Cox’s Bazar, Lakshmipur, and Noakhali districts may also cross the danger mark, inundating nearby low-lying areas.

In Sylhet, the water levels of the Manu, Dhalai, and Khowai rivers are rising and may continue to do so over the next three days.

Meanwhile, water levels in the Surma and Kushiyara rivers are currently falling but may remain stable over the next 24 hours before rising again in the following two days.