Rising waters in the Padma River driven by heavy rainfall and upstream runoff have triggered severe flooding across Kushtia and Chapainawabganj with leaving tens of thousands of residents marooned.
In Kushtia’s Daulatpur upazila situation is critical. The Padma River has crossed the danger mark at the Hardinge Bridge point, submerging roads, homes and vast tracts of arable land across the Chilmari and Ramkrishnapur unions. With transportation networks collapsed, locals are entirely reliant on small boats to navigate. Residents face acute shortages of food, clean drinking water and cooking facilities. Furthermore the floodwaters have brought a surge of venomous snakes into residential areas with sparking widespread panic among the trapped population.
Meanwhile in Chapainawabganj the Padma is flowing just 29 centimetres below the danger level of 22.5 metres at the Pankha Gauge Station. Water levels in the nearby Mahananda and Rebhaba rivers are also rising rapidly. Thousands of residents in the Narayanpur Union are currently waterlogged also forcing the closure of several educational institutions.
The Water Development Board expects water levels to continue rising through the weekend before potentially receding and ruling out the immediate threat of a catastrophic, large-scale flood in Chapainawabganj.
Local administrations in both districts have launched emergency response operations. Officials are actively monitoring the affected regions, advising vulnerable families to relocate to shelters and distributing dry food and relief materials.
However the flood victims are urgently appealing for expanded government assistance. Locals are demanding a steady supply of clean water with adequate food rations and the immediate stocking of emergency antivenom at local health centres to combat the escalating snakebite threat.
