First cyclone Remal, now floods: Khulna villages submerged again

Cyclones, river erosions, and floods — people in coastal Bangladesh have been fighting natural disasters on a regular basis, and each year is turning out to be increasingly more challenging than the previous one due to climate change.
Just this year, thousands in Khulna lost their livelihoods as a tidal surge triggered by cyclone Remal swept through their homes and villages.
Just when things turn normal, another disaster strikes.
Take the case of 13 villages in Deluti union under Khulna’s Paikgachha upazila for example.
Just when the people there were healing from the aftermath of cyclone Remal, the recent floods have left their areas submerged for the last four days.
Embankments getting breached too easily despite repeated repair work also adds to their misery.
The locals have blamed the Bangladesh Water Development Board for using substandard materials during repair works.
At least 15,000 residents of the aforementioned villages have been stranded.
Hundreds of villagers have left their homes behind to take shelter on nearby higher grounds.
Earlier on Thursday afternoon, the embankment near Kalinagar village in the union was breached, which led to the inundation of Kalinagar, Darun Mallik, Gopi Pagla, Telikhali, Syedkhali, Khejurtala, Sener Ber, Hatbari, Phulbari, Bagirdana, Durgapur, Harinkhola, and Noai villages.
These villages previously suffered a similar plight after the embankment was earlier breached during Cyclone Remal on May 27.
The affected villagers alleged that officials of Bangladesh Water Development Board have not been sincere in handling the issue.
Khadija Bibi, a resident of Syedkhali village who took shelter on the embankment in Sadhur Ghat area, said she used to earn a living by hatching and rearing ducks and selling those in the market.
“The incubator was damaged by floodwater and more than 30 ducks floated away. Almost everything in the house was destroyed. The flood left me destitute overnight,” she said.
Many other villagers shared similar plights.
RESIDENTS REPAIRING EMBANKMENTS

Meanwhile, several thousand villagers, including around a thousand women, were seen yesterday noon working voluntarily to repair the breached portion of the embankment.
Different organisations from Khulna and other districts have also lent a helping hand to the villagers by providing relief materials.
Students were seen distributing food items to those who sought shelter on other parts of the embankment.
Ripon Kumar Mandal, chairman of Deluti Union Parishad, said the flood damaged numerous homesteads and washed away shrimp enclosures and crop fields.
“There is no other way to save the people of this union without sustainable embankment,” he added.
Contacted, Ashraful Alam, executive engineer of BWDB-2 in Khulna, said the river’s water level rose by 3–4 feet higher compared to normal tide, which led to the embankment getting breached.
“Locals have been working to repair it while we are providing technical support. The repair work will be completed within tomorrow [today],” he added.