The flood situation continued to improve in Chattogram division on Wednesday, but fresh flooding threats emerged in northern and north-eastern haor areas as heavy rainfall forecast in Bangladesh and neighbouring Indian states is expected to push up river water levels.
The death toll from the floods has risen to 57 in the last 10 days, according to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), three rivers were flowing above the danger level as of 9:00am on Wednesday -- the Teesta at Tarapur in Gaibandha, the Kushiyara at Fenchuganj in Sylhet and the Someshwari at Kalmakanda in Netrokona.
The Teesta was flowing one centimetre above the danger level after rising 29cm over the past 24 hours, while the Kushiyara and Someshwari also remained above their respective danger marks.
The FFWC warned that the Manu, Dhalai and Khowai rivers in the Sylhet region are likely to rise rapidly over the next 24 hours.
The Manu River at Moulvibazar and the Khowai River at Habiganj may reach the warning level, temporarily inundating low-lying areas in the two districts.
Although water levels in the Surma-Kushiyara, Sarigowain, Jadukata, Someshwari and Bhugai-Kangsha river systems have been receding and are expected to continue falling over the next three days, the FFWC cautioned that heavy rainfall forecast in Sylhet division and upstream catchment areas could trigger fresh rises in several north-eastern rivers later this week.
The weather office has forecast moderate to moderately heavy rainfall across much of Bangladesh and the neighbouring Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal over the next 24 hours. Heavy rainfall is also likely over Sylhet division and adjoining upstream areas on the second and third days of the forecast period.
Meanwhile, a low-pressure area has formed over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Odisha-West Bengal coast and is expected to move west-northwest over the next two days.
Among the highest rainfall recorded in Bangladesh over the past 24 hours were 77mm at Maheshkhola in Sunamganj and 60mm at Manu Railway Bridge in Moulvibazar.
Across the border, Kumarghat in Tripura recorded 133mm of rainfall, followed by Tezpur in Assam with 97mm, Manughat in Tripura with 85mm and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh with 61mm.
The FFWC also said water levels in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna and Ganges-Padma river systems are expected to continue rising over the next five days, although they are likely to remain below the danger level.
UK support for flood victims
The UK government is providing BDT 57 million (5.7 crore) in life-saving humanitarian assistance to support more than 55,000 people affected by flooding in Southeast and Northeast Bangladesh, said a spokesman of the British High Commission in Dhaka on Wednesday..
Managed by Start Network and delivered through national and local NGOs, the UK contribution will provide affected communities with cash assistance, food, and hygiene supplies across six of the worst affected districts: Cox's Bazar, Bandarban, Rangamati, Chittagong, Khagrachari and Moulvibazar.
This support builds on BDT 39 million (3.9 crore) in emergency funding released in May 2026 for communities affected by the earlier flooding in the Sylhet region.
It brings the UK government's total disaster response support in Bangladesh this year to over BDT 96 million (9.6 crore), alongside ongoing UK support to strengthen Bangladesh's climate resilience.
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