‘The flood took it all’: Feni residents struggle to find shelter, aid as water devours everything

Feni and Chattogram district submerged on 23 August following recent flash floods. Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS

When the flood water reached her house on Wednesday, Nadia Zannat and her family members did not have time to pack their things. She, along with eight other members of her family left their house as water continued to rise. 

For the first few days, they took shelter at a relative's house, where flood water was yet to infiltrate. But eventually, the water came rushing for that house too. 

On Friday, Nadia and her family, residents of Daulatpur village in Chhagalnaiya of Feni, left in search of a safe shelter once again. They are now staying at the two open floors of the under-construction Rahmania Shopping Centre adjacent to the Dhaka-Chattogram highway at Muhuriganj Market. 

They are not alone. Hundreds of other children, women, and men have gathered there as flood water washed away their homes.

"We couldn't save any of the household items. The flood took it all," Nadia told The Business Standard on the day.

"With the way the water level is rising, I am not sure when we will be able to return to our house. I have never experienced such a disaster in my life," she added.

The situation is more or less the same across Feni's Chhagalnaiya, Porshuram, Fulgazi, and Chattogram's Mirsarai, Fatikchari and other districts. 

Residents of these areas are now struggling to find a proper shelter. Some have shifted to their relatives' houses while some others are finding a roof and a wall capable of fending off the flood waters.

With most areas completely flooded it has become impossible to stay indoors in the low-lying areas, locals said.

Besides, with the major highways and roads going under water, traffic movement has also come to an apparent halt. Thousands of passengers are now stuck in vehicles helplessly. Many goods-laded vehicles are also stuck on the road. Especially Dhaka-bound lanes are experiencing huge tailbacks of vehicles.

"I left for Dhaka with goods from Chattogram on Thursday afternoon. I managed to go as far as the Muhuriganj area by 2:00pm Friday. I am in dire straits as no shops are open. I am not sure when I can reach Dhaka," 

The flooding is disrupting relief and rescue works as well. Some aid workers said they couldn't reach the destination with aid items from Dhaka.

Shafayet Mehdi, who headed out from Mirsarai to the Fazilpur area to distribute relief items for the flood affected, said right now, it's only possible to provide aid to the nearby areas. "As there are not enough boats, it is not possible to go to the inner localities. In this situation, if the administrative coordination is done, the relief will be reached in the distant areas."

Rescue workers are using small boats to reassure those stranded in flood waters from outer areas, but it has become difficult to conduct such operations in inner localities, leaving them marooned for days.

"I was trapped in my own house for four days. Volunteers rescued me today and brought me here," Bibi Marium, 60, told TBS from a shelter centre in the Chhagalnaiya upazila. 

A resident of Nijkonjura area, Marium said her husband and four other members of her family are still marooned. 

"I don't know if they are alive or dead. The flow of water has become so dangerous that even rescue workers can't go there now," Marium said as she broke down into tears.

Some of the locals claimed this is the worst flooding they have seen in their lifetimes. With water level still rising, they fear the situation is likely to deteriorate.

Hossain Mahmud, organiser of Alor Dishari, a voluntary organisation in Chattogram, said, "We have come out to help the affected people. It will be difficult to overcome the dire situation we are witnessing. Members of our organisation are having to swim to rescue those trapped in various houses. Many are still marooned. If they are not rescued quickly, the loss of life may increase."