700,000 geo-bags deployed to reinforce embankments against flooding: State Min Farhad
More than 700,000 geo-bags have been deployed to vulnerable areas across the country for emergency riverbank protection and embankment reinforcement, while another 600,000 remain in reserve for immediate use if required, State Minister for Water Resources Farhad Hossain Azad said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press briefing after an inter-ministerial meeting at the Department of Information in the Secretariat, Farhad said the reserve also included a substantial stock of synthetic geo-bags that could be deployed quickly in the event of fresh flooding or river erosion.
The government has also undertaken more than 1,500 emergency work packages in flood-prone and vulnerable areas through local lawmakers, district administrations and the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB). Of these, nearly 500 have already been completed, while work on around 1,000 others is under way.
“If heavy rainfall or a fresh flood situation develops in the coming days, these geo-bags and other emergency equipment will be deployed immediately to protect embankments and prevent riverbank erosion,” he said.
Farhad said the government was focusing not only on emergency response but also on long-term flood resilience through improved river management, embankment strengthening, modernisation of sluice gates, waterlogging mitigation and the development of flood control infrastructure.
He expressed hope that the overall flood situation would continue to improve if favourable weather conditions persisted, adding that the ministry was maintaining round-the-clock monitoring of vulnerable areas and remained prepared to respond to any emergency.
Record rainfall behind recent floods
The state minister said the severe flooding and waterlogging in Chattogram Division over the past week were triggered by exceptionally heavy rainfall.
Although Bangladesh receives an average annual rainfall of around 2,200mm, Chattogram Division recorded extraordinary rainfall between 6 and 13 July, causing floods across Chattogram, the Chattogram Hill Tracts and Cox's Bazar.
During the period, Chattogram received about 1,454mm of rainfall, Bandarban 1,102mm and Cox's Bazar 846mm.
Describing the rainfall as an extremely rare event, Forhad said it had triggered flash floods, prolonged waterlogging and widespread inundation.
Emergency repairs under way
Farhad said he, along with the water resources secretary and the BWDB director general, visited Chattogram on 12 July to inspect flood-affected areas and assess whether ongoing water resources projects had contributed to waterlogging.
He said the Army-supervised waterlogging mitigation project in Chattogram was about 95 percent complete and was expected to be handed over to Chattogram City Corporation by the end of the year. Once completed, it is expected to significantly reduce the city's chronic waterlogging.
According to the minister, Cox's Bazar sustained some of the worst damage during this year's floods, with embankments and polders damaged at four locations.
Embankments were breached at Puratonkhali and Purba Para near the newly established Matarbari upazila because of intense water pressure, while another embankment was damaged at Purba Mehernama. In several places, including Shilkhali, residents also cut embankments to drain floodwater.
Emergency repairs are under way, and authorities have instructed the rapid reconstruction of damaged embankments and the repair of sluice gates to improve future drainage capacity.
River levels gradually receding
As of 6am on 14 July, several rivers remained above danger level. The Kushiyara River was flowing 26cm above danger level at Fenchuganj in Sylhet and Markuli in Sunamganj. The Surma River at Chatak was 6cm above danger level, the Someswari River at Kamalakanda in Netrokona was 13cm above, while the Teesta River at Dalia in Nilphamari was 7cm above the danger mark.
However, Farhad said river levels were gradually falling as rainfall had eased and expressed hope that those still above danger level would return to normal within the next one to two days.
He added that all officials of the Ministry of Water Resources had been instructed to remain on round-the-clock duty in affected areas to ensure rapid emergency response wherever embankments were damaged. The ministry had also strengthened its pre-monsoon preparedness this year in anticipation of extreme rainfall, he said.