With embankments broken or breached in 21 locations, Feni residents are once again caught in the crosshairs of this year's flood amid heavy rainfall.
New areas are now becoming submerged, with at least 100,000 people stranded across four upazilas.
According to the latest information, floodwaters are rising in Chhagalnaiya and Feni Sadar upazilas, while power supply remains disrupted.
According to the Water Development Board (WDB), at least 55 villages have been flooded due to embankment breaches.
Md Mojibur Rahman, acting officer of the Feni Meteorological Office, reported that the district has been experiencing moderate to heavy rain for four consecutive days. Until 3 pm on Thursday, 63.1 mm of rain was recorded in the past 24 hours.
Light rain is likely to continue across the district on Friday.
'Like last year's flood all over again'
Rabiul Hasan, a resident of South Satara in Chhagalnaiya, said, "Water started entering on Wednesday night. As the day progressed, more areas were submerged. Strong currents swept in, flooding homes and everything else. It's like last year's flood all over again."
Mohaimeen Tajim from Anandapur in Phulgazi said, "Because of the careless work of some corrupt Water Board officials, we face this suffering every year. Before recovering from last year's damage, we're again facing the same crisis."
Another resident, Zahirul Islam, added that electricity and mobile networks had also been disrupted.
"We haven't received any dry food or administrative assistance yet."
Power Outages Spell More Woes
Meanwhile, the Feni Power Distribution Division and Rural Electrification Board stated that many electric metres and substations in homes and businesses are underwater.
The power supply has been cut off for safety. If the situation doesn't improve, the outage could last for several more days, sources said.
Parshuram Rural Electricity's DGM, Md Sohel Akhter, said, "Out of 33,000 customers in this upazila, 60% are currently without power. Connections will be restored once the situation normalises. However, due to damage to various lines, immediate reconnection is unlikely."
What Authorities Are Saying
Abul Kashem, Sub-Divisional Engineer of Feni Water Board, said even though water levels had dropped, breaches in the embankments were allowing water to enter new areas.
"A decision on repairing the embankments will be made once water levels recede. However, with less rainfall in Feni town, the overall flood situation seems to be improving," he added.
Feni Deputy Commissioner Saiful Islam said over 100,000 people were stranded in Parshuram, Phulgazi, Chhagalnaiya, and Feni Sadar upazilas.
The army has started rescue and relief operations with funds allocated for relief efforts across the upazilas.
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