A Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

Cox’s Bazar town has gone under knee-deep water due to incessant rainfall for two days, leaving millions of people stranded. Most of the low-lying areas of 9 upazilas have been flooded. Power and network outages are reported in some areas.

At least 25,000 tourists are stranded in hotels, resorts, and cottages. The authorities have hoisted a red flag and restricted the movement of tourists along the sea beach amid the hostile weather.

Mohammad Abdul Hannan, assistant meteorologist of Cox’s Bazar Meteorological Office, informed that a total of 225 millimeters of rainfall was recorded from 6 am on Friday (13 September) to 6 am on Saturday (14 September).

He added, 501 mm of rain has been recorded in Cox’s Bazar in the last 24 hours from 3 pm on Thursday to 3 pm on Friday. This is the highest rainfall recorded in a single day in the ongoing season.

At least 35 roads, including the city’s main and beach roads, have been submerged in knee-deep rainwater. The goods of hundreds of shops have been destroyed. Thousands of houses were submerged in water. The people there are suffering due to traffic movement stop on the road.

Six people from two families were killed in separate landslides triggered by incessant rain in Sadar and Ukhiya upazilas of Cox’s Bazar early yesterday.

According to Meteorologist Shahinul Islam, Cyclone Yagi is behind the heavy rain on the coast of Cox’s Bazar.  Cyclone Yagi formed over the Indian Ocean a week ago. It hit Vietnam, China, and Myanmar. Cox’s Bazar received record rainfall due to the distant impact of the cyclone, strong monsoon winds, and cloud formation over the Bay of Bengal.

Meanwhile, all the maritime ports of the country have been advised to hoist local cautionary signal No. 3. Coastal rivers are advised to hoist signal No. 1 due to the strong winds and rain. The Meteorological Department has also informed about the risk of landslides in Chattogram due to heavy to very heavy rains.

According to Bangladesh Meteorological Department, there may be heavy to very heavy rains in the coastal areas of the country for the next two to three days. There is a possibility of two days of rain in other parts of the country including the capital. Light to moderate rain may occur in Dhaka.