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Receding floodwater reveals extensive damage in Feni

Published : Friday, 30 August, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 114
Md Abu Taher Bhuiyan
FENI, Aug 29: Critically flood-affected people in the district have already started dreaming of  turning around by overcoming all damages of the sudden flood that continued devastation for about one week.

That ever seen flooding was triggered by heavy raining along with tidal surge caused by the onrush of tide water from the upstream, confining about 11.50 lakh people in all upazilas of the district.

Now, along with the flood water receding, the public sufferings are mounting up every day. Despite that, they are trying to turn around by standing on the heaps of devastation.

Visits to mostly affected areas in Fulgazi, Parshuram, and Chhagalnaiya upazilas found marks of damages; damage scars are emerging with the water passing.

Just suffered people are now being affected by different water-borne diseases; and there are food, drinking water and medicine crises.

Already there is prevailing a humanitarian crisis situation in the district.

If the post-flood disease is not controlled, the humanitarian crisis is likely to turn severe, locals said.

According to district administration sources, two deaths were reported, but the missing or drowning will be more. The exact information of casualties is not available yet.

According to local sources, in six upazilas of the district, huge damages of transplanted Aman, vegetables, and Aman seedbeds were reported.

Due to submergence, furniture damages, bedding items  and domestic animals were damaged at large scales. 

Locals said, the flash flooding started to inundate localities within only 3-4 hours. 

People did not get enough time to evacuate to safe places and protect their domestic animals including cow, goat, hens and ducks. 

Dogs and cats did not get protection of the flood. 


Now clayey conditions are prevailing in all submerged areas. 

Huge areas of fish enclosures were washed away. Numerous poultry farms were floated away,
At present, cattle feed crisis is serious.
 
Roads have been so badly damaged that relief materials and other public services cannot be reached the affected people.

District administrations sources said, a total of seven  medical  camps  have been set up in the district including six in six upazilas and one in the Sadar upazila.
 
Besides,  six more medical camps have been set up in six private hospitals,  Concept Hospital, Medinova Hospital Medilab, Al Aksa Hospital, ZU Model Hospital, and Mission Hospital & Diagnostic Centre.  

Already relief and disaster affairs adviser, religious affairs adviser, army chief, navy chief, and other officials inspected the flood affected areas in Feni; and they distributed relief. 

Since the appearance of the flood, army, navy, air force, BGB, Coast Guard, Fire Services, Diving Team, and social volunteer organisations carried out rescue operations in flooded areas by speedboats, small boats and vans. 

In addition, country's different government and private organisations, and humanitarian organisations are continuing medical services and relief services.
 
Communications with the district headquarters remained suspended on Feni-Porshuram, Feni-Chhagalnaiya, and Feni-Sonagazi regional roads for seven days. 

Now, a bit normal communication has been restored on the regional roads of Feni-Sonagazi Road and of Porshuram-Fulgazi-Chhagalnaiya upazilas; but roads developed deplorable conditions due to breaking and puddles; small vehicles cannot move on these risky roads.

Yet taking life risks and in the absence of passenger buses, people are moving from one place to another by truck-pickup.

In damaged areas, CNG and battery-run autos are not moving due to outage of gas and electricity. 

In fact, public sufferings are serious.  

In some places of the district, mobile networks were restored, yet two-thirds of the electricity disruption are still lying disrupted. 

According to field sources, in fact in a slow pace, all things in the wake of the devastating flood in the district are set to become normal gradually. 

In organised systems, 1.5 lakh trapped people were rescued in joint drives by army, navy, air force, RAB, BGB, anti-discrimination students' organisations, different voluntary organisations, and general students-masses. 

Besides, many people took shelter in safe places in huge number in different areas at their capacities.

A sexagenarian Rahim Ullah, who was on-board of a truck in risk, also said, "No option; except truck-trolley no other transport is on the road; I am on emergency need to go to town; there is risk but not any alternative." 
   
A pickup boarded passenger in Feni Sadar Hospital area Kamrul Islam said, "Since the flooding, I have been disconnected from my family; as there is no regular passenger transports, the truck-pickup is the last resort."

Truck driver Abul Bashar said, "Gas supply is off; water is still in many places of just emerged roads; so, we are trying to reach passengers by big transports to their destination." 
  
Deputy Commissioner Shahina Aktar said, so far, 62,000 dry food packets were distributed at the government and private level; another 56,500 food packets were air-dropped in the joint cooperation of army, navy, and RAB; and, behind these, different volunteers reached food packets to flood-confined people in hard inaccessible areas. 

According to sources at Relief and Rehabilitation Branch, allocations of the cash money and the relief rice supply is continuing. 

And, along with dry foods, cooked hotchpotch have been arranged in the shelter centres.

Sources in the Road and Highway Department (RHD) and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in the district said, damage costs are yet to be estimated; after the water recession, the damages can be estimated. 

It is the same with other village economic sectors including agriculture, fisheries, and water resources, and these will be assessed after the full recession of the flood water, sources concerned said. 

On July 2 in the first round, flash floods hit Fulgazi, Parshuram, and Chhagalnaiya upazilas; an incessant down-pouring continued to drop for non-stop four-five days, causing abnormal swelling of the three rivers at a time; that devastating flash flooding was created due to off-season onrush of hilly tide from the upstream of India. 

According to the official sources, over-flooding burst the dams of the Muhuri-Kahua-Ceylonia river embankments, pushing water in surging speed towards localities through at least 20 broken dam points; both low and raised civilised areas were inundated.

Later on, in a span of one month, the heaving raining created the same condition of flooding in the first week of August, and the second phase, the flash flooding broke another 10 points of dams; these upazilas were deluged again.

And, on August 20, the third time flooding hit all the upazilas of Feni District causing unimagined devastation.



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