8 hours Ago
At least four people died after being swept away by floodwaters and another woman went missing in Sherpur. The bodies of the four were recovered in the last two days. Flash floods have marooned around 2.
25 lakh people in Sherpur and Mymensingh during this period. The deceased are Rahijob Ambia, 45, and Idris Ali, 65, both residents of Sherpur's Nalitabari upazila, and siblings Hatem Ali and Alamgir of Abhinagar village. Locals said Ambia slipped on a flooded road around 5:00pm on Friday while heading to a shelter with her five-year-old child and was swept away.
About one hour later, her body was recovered from the edge of Baghab village, said Abdus Sabu, chairman of the local union parishad. The child, however, survived by clinging to a tree, Sabu told The Daily Star. Idris was swept away by floodwaters while returning home from a kitchen market around 4:30pm on Friday.
His body was found around half a kilometre away, said Md Masud Rana, upazila nirbahi officer of Nalitabari. The bodies of siblings Hatem and Alamgir were recovered around 6:00pm yesterday. A woman has been missing since Friday night, Sanowar Hossain, OC of Nalitabari Police Station, told The Daily Star.
She is Mahua Khatun of Namabatkuchi village. Flash floods have marooned around one lakh people in Sherpur's four upazilas -- Sherpur Sadar, Jhenaigati, Nalitabari and Sreebordi, according to data of the district administration. "Water entered my home on Friday afternoon, and we are now surviving on dry food," said Achia Khatun, a resident of Ghazirkhamar village under Sherpur Sadar upazila.
Aman paddy on around 25,000 hectares of land and vegetables on around 1,000 hectares have gone under water, affecting more than 65,000 farmers, said the district agriculture office. "I planted Aman paddy on around six bighas, and now all of it is underwater," said Matin Mia, a farmer from Sherpur Sadar upazila's Ghazaria area. Fish from around 800 ponds have been washed away, according to the upazila fisheries office.
Torofdar Mahmudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Sherpur, said they were working to evacuate flood victims and distribute relief. In Mymensingh, floods have marooned over 1.25 lakh people in Dhobaura and Haluaghat upazilas, according to data of the district administration.
"I have become homeless as my house has been destroyed by floodwaters. I have taken shelter at a relative's home," said Arif Mondol, a farmer from Dakshin Maizpara village. Aman paddy on 4,000 hectares and vegetables on around 300 hectares have been submerged in Dhobaura.
Besides, Aman paddy on 7,600 hectares and vegetables on 38 hectares have been affected by flash floods in Haluaghat, said the local agriculture officers. [Our correspondents from Mymensingh and Jamalpur contributed to this report.].
