Flood centre warned of fresh short-term floods in seven northern districts

Heavy rain could bring short-term floods back to seven districts of Bangladesh within 24 to 72 hours, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) of the Bangladesh Water Development Board warned in a bulletin on Saturday, 18 July 2026. The districts at risk were Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Gaibandha and Kurigram in Rangpur division, and Sylhet and Sunamganj in the north-east, where low-lying riverside areas could be flooded. Rivers in several other districts could reach warning level over the same period.

The forecast came while earlier floodwater in the north had not fully receded. Bhorer Kagoj reported on 18 July that FFWC assistant engineer Mostafa Kamal Jihan had said on the Friday that the Kushiyara was flowing above danger level at Fenchuganj in Sylhet and at Markuli in Sunamganj. He also said the monsoon was fairly active over Bangladesh and vigorous over the north Bay of Bengal.

According to the bulletin, the Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar in Rangpur division had been steady over the previous 24 hours but could rise over the following three days. Within 24 to 48 hours they could flow above danger level at some points, causing short-term floods in parts of the low-lying riverside areas of Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Gaibandha and Kurigram.

The Teesta is a river of about 414 km that rises in the eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal, enters Bangladesh through Rangpur division and joins the Jamuna. In the monsoon it swells beyond its banks, and it has caused severe flooding in Bangladesh many times.

The Surma-Kushiyara in the north-east had risen over the previous 24 hours and could keep rising for three more days, the FFWC said. Within 72 hours the rivers could flow above danger level at some points, bringing short-term floods to parts of the low-lying riverside areas of Sylhet and Sunamganj, or the flood situation could stay steady.

The Kushiyara begins at the Amalshid bifurcation of the Barak river and flows west, forming the border between Assam in India and Sylhet in Bangladesh before passing through several Sylhet upazilas, including Fenchuganj.

The Brahmaputra-Jamuna and the Ganges-Padma had also risen over the previous 24 hours and could keep rising for five days, the centre said. On the third to fifth days, 20 to 22 July, the Brahmaputra and Jamuna could reach warning level at some points in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogura, Sirajganj and Tangail, and some low-lying riverside areas could be inundated.

On the coast, the Kirtankhola, Lower Meghna, Pasur, Ichamati, Karnaphuli, Little Feni, Noakhali Khal and other rivers in Barishal, Khulna and Chattogram divisions were seeing higher than normal tides, which could last one more day.

The FFWC was set up in 1972 under the Bangladesh Water Development Board and works under the Ministry of Water Resources. It monitors river levels across the country and issues flood forecasts and warnings.

Photo: Tanvir Rahat / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). The lead picture shows flooding in Kurigram in October 2024, an earlier flood.

Sources: Jagonews24, Bhorer Kagoj, Wikipedia (Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, Teesta River, Kushiyara River)