Heavy downpour submerges low-lying areas of Chattogram, fear of landslides

Low-lying areas of Chattogram city have again been submerged in rainwater due to the obvious low pressure.

According to Patenga Meteorological Office forecast, heavy to very heavy rain is likely for another two days. As a result, there is a risk of landslides.

According to the information of the Meteorological Office, 112 mm of rain has fallen in Chattogram in the last 24 hours till 9am Monday. Meanwhile, 32 mm rainfall has been recorded in Chattogram from 6am to 9am on Monday. The previous day (August 18) 33.9 mm of rainfall was recorded till 3pm. Earlier, the Meteorological Office recorded 102 mm of rain till 3pm on August 17. Although it rained intermittently on Sunday, after 11 pm it started raining more.

Meanwhile, parents had trouble getting students to school on Monday morning due to heavy rain. At the same time, office going passengers were also in trouble. Low-lying areas are also less vehicular due to flooding. The drivers are preventing CNG-powered auto-rickshaws from running by calling a strike for various demands. Due to lack of vehicles, many could not reach their destination on time.

Most of the roads in low-lying areas including Muradpur, Katalganj and Bahaddarhat in the city are knee-deep. Passengers are trying to wade through the water. Also, severe traffic jams have been caused due to waterlogging on Zakir Hossain Road and GEC in the city. Vehicles are stuck in one place for a long time.

Zahirul Haque, forecasting officer of Patenga Meteorological Office, said the low pressure located in the northwest Bay of Bengal has condensed and turned into a clear low pressure. Due to this, deep convective clouds continue to form over the North Bay of Bengal. Due to which such heavy rain is likely to continue for at least two more days. There is also a possibility of landslides in some places due to heavy rain.
It should be noted that rainfall has increased in Chattogram since the beginning of this month. Earlier in the beginning of the month (August 1), incessant rains inundated the low-lying areas of the city and created waterlogging. At that time, Patenga Meteorological Office recorded 149 mm rainfall.