At least 1.8 million Bangladeshis have already been affected by floodwaters Government holds a special meeting over disaster response as river levels rise DHAKA: Millions of Bangladeshis in the country’s already inundated northeast were on alert on Wednesday as the country braces for more flooding in the coming days. Bangladesh’s second-largest city, Sylhet, and neighboring districts have been underwater for several days. “As of today, 1.8 million people have been affected by flooding,” Mohammad Asaduzzaman, joint secretary of the Department of Disaster Management, told Arab News. The number of people displaced and isolated by floodwaters is expected to increase this week as water levels in the riverine region continue to rise with the extreme onset of the monsoon season, which is also wreaking havoc in neighboring India. “Seven of our main rivers are currently flowing above the danger levels at 16 points, resulting in floods in seven districts,” Uday Raihan, executive engineer at the Flood Forecast and Warning Center of the Bangladesh Water Development Board, told Arab News. “On July 5 and 6, the northeastern region will see another round of increase in floodwater. In addition to the existing seven districts, four to five new districts will be affected.” Millions of people in Bangladesh, which has hundreds of rivers, are affected by seasonal floods during the June-September monsoon when rivers — many of which bring water from India — burst their banks before reaching the Bay of Bengal. Even bigger flooding is likely to hit the country this August as downpours are expected to be more intense across the whole country. On Tuesday, the Bangladeshi government held a special meeting on disaster response, as officials are fearing a repeat of the 2022 record rainfall in India’s Meghalaya state, which triggered Bangladesh’s most severe flooding in memory. At least 7.2 million people were displaced and 100 killed in the low-lying areas of Sylhet and Sunamganj districts. Economic damages were estimated at about $1 billion. “There is a fear of another seasonal flood in August. At the moment, we can’t forecast the situation,” Raihan said. “In recent years, we have noticed frequent flood situations in the country. We need to have more research to assess their relation to the impacts of climate change.”