A heavy downpour early Sunday morning submerged multiple areas of Dhaka causing severe waterlogging and extreme hardship for office-goers, students and daily commuters.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) recorded 49 mm of rainfall in the capital between midnight and 9:00 am with intense thunderstorms lasting from 4:00 am to 8:00 am.
Major thoroughfares and neighborhoods including Malibagh, Mouchak, Moghbazar, Karwan Bazar, Dhanmondi and Mirpur were heavily inundated. Pedestrians were forced to wade through knee-deep water while vehicles crawled through the streets. This resulted in severe traffic congestion, particularly on the stretch from Rampura TV Centre to the Abul Hotel crossing.
The heavy rain also led to a severe shortage of public transport. With fewer buses on the road, many commuters were forced to rely on rickshaws or simply walk through the flooded streets. Taking advantage of the transport crisis, rickshaw pullers charged almost double the standard fares, compounding the public's distress.
Looking ahead the BMD forecasts light to moderate rain and thundershowers for parts of the Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, Sylhet and Dhaka divisions.
Meanwhile, a mild heat wave continues to sweep across the Sylhet division and several other districts including Gopalganj, Cumilla and Khulna. Overall day and night temperatures are expected to remain mostly unchanged across the country.
