Heavy monsoon rains lash Bangladesh's Chattogram

Days of torrential rains have lashed Bangladesh's seaport city Chattogram, some 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, inundating low-lying areas and disrupting road traffic with the highest downpour so far this year recorded on Monday, reported Xinhua.

Roads, lanes and bylanes in parts of the country's premier seaport city went under ankle to knee-deep water Monday, causing immense hardship to commuters and its millions of dwellers.

A.K.M Nazmul Hoque, a senior meteorologist with the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), told Xinhua Monday that an active monsoon has led to heavy rainfall in some areas in Chattogram.

After enduring prolonged heat, the BND meteorologist said he fears that more rains will hit Chattogram city in the next 48 hours, but may decrease in intensity of rainfall by Aug. 9.

Under the influence of the active monsoon, he said heavy to moderate downpours also occurred in Dhaka and elsewhere in the South Asian country throughout Monday.

The country's meteorological agency reported 322 mm rainfall, the highest in the Chattogram region this year, in the 24 hours until 6:00 a.m. local time on Monday.

This worsened the waterlogging situation in the city with TV footage showing ground floors of houses and business establishments were flooded in many areas.

Unloading goods from larger vessels at the outer anchorage of the Chattogram port has remained suspended since last Friday, while trade in the city's main Khatunganj-Chaktai wholesale hub has also suffered.

Also, unloading goods from bulk carriers at the jetties and delivery of goods have slowed down considerably due to incessant rains, which exposed once again the poor conditions of Chattogram's drainage system.

Authorities have started evacuating people from the hills at risk of landslides. As parts of a hill collapsed on a microbus on Friday morning, the district administration has reportedly opened 19 shelters after launching the evacuation on Saturday, said Assistant Commissioner Md Omar Faruk.

Traffic resumed more than two hours after authorities removed the debris of the landslide.