Continuous rain and runoff from upstream had pushed water above the danger level at six points on four rivers in Bangladesh on Saturday, 11 July 2026. The rivers were the Sangu, Kushiyara, Manu and Khowai. The Bangladesh Water Development Board's Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) reported this in its regular bulletin based on 9 am readings. With several other important rivers at the warning level, the flood situation in the areas concerned was expected to worsen.
Where the rivers crossed the danger level
According to Jagonews24, the bulletin gave these station readings:
- Sangu: 107 cm above the danger level at Bandarban and 19 cm above at Dohazari (Chattogram)
- Kushiyara: 17 cm above at Markuli in Sunamganj and 21 cm above at Fenchuganj in Sylhet
- Manu: 38 cm above at Moulvibazar
- Khowai: 1 cm above at Ballah in Habiganj
Of the country's 127 gauging stations, water was rising at 57, falling at 64 and steady at six, the centre said. Several stations on the Teesta, Kushiyara, Surma, Someshwari, Muhuri and Matamuhuri were at the warning level.
A day earlier, at 9 am on Friday, 10 July, five rivers had been above the danger level at nine points, BSS and bdnews24.com reported. That day the Sangu stood 95 cm above the danger level at Bandarban, the Khowai 60 cm above at Ballah, and the Matamuhuri 47 cm above at Lama in Bandarban and 32 cm above at Chiringa in Cox's Bazar. By 11 July the Matamuhuri was no longer on the danger list, although some of its stations were still at the warning level.
Seven districts flooded, more areas at risk
FFWC executive engineer Sardar Uday Rayhan said that day that floods persisted in seven districts: Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Chattogram, Cox's Bazar and Bandarban, The Business Standard's Bangla edition reported. He said rainfall in the south-east and in the north-east including Sylhet had been lower over the previous 24 hours than in the two days before, which he called a positive sign. But with heavy rain expected in the south-east, especially the Chattogram region, over the next 24 hours, a marked improvement there was unlikely, he said, adding that conditions could gradually improve from Monday, 13 July, if the heavy rain eased. The Ganges and the Jamuna, the country's two main rivers, were still below the danger level.
According to Independent Television, the centre forecast that over the next 24 to 48 hours the Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar could rise above the danger level in places in Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Kurigram and Gaibandha, causing short-term flooding in low-lying riverside areas. It gave a similar warning for parts of the Muhuri, Feni, Selonia and Halda in Feni, Chattogram and Khagrachhari, and said low-lying riverside areas of Lakshmipur and Noakhali could be temporarily inundated. The centre said there was no risk of prolonged flooding.
The four rivers
The Sangu rises in the Arakan Hills of Myanmar. It enters Bangladesh near Remakri in Thanchi upazila of Bandarban, flows through Thanchi, Rowangchhari and Bandarban Sadar, then through Satkania and Banshkhali in Chattogram into the Bay of Bengal. It is 270 km long, 173 km of it in Bangladesh.
The Kushiyara is a transboundary river. According to Banglapedia, India's Barak splits at Amalshid in Zakiganj, Sylhet, into the Surma and the Kushiyara; the Kushiyara passes Fenchuganj, Balaganj and Nabiganj among other places and rejoins the Surma at Markuli. The Manu flows in from Tripura in India through Kulaura in Moulvibazar and meets the Kushiyara at Manumukh. The Khowai rises in the Atharamura Hills of Tripura, enters Bangladesh at Ballah in Habiganj, passes Habiganj town and joins the Kushiyara in Lakhai. It is 166 km long.
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre was set up in 1972 under the Bangladesh Water Development Board. It comes under the Ministry of Water Resources and is based in Dhaka.
Photo: Aditya Kabir / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Sources: Jagonews24 (11 July 2026), Independent Television (11 July 2026), The Business Standard Bangla (11 July 2026), BSS (10 July 2026), bdnews24.com (10 July 2026), The Daily Inqilab (10 July 2026), Banglapedia, Wikipedia
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