Large parts of Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangpur, and Kurigram have been flooded after the Teesta River suddenly swelled at midnight, inundating vast char and low-lying areas.
Waist-deep water entered hundreds of homes, severing road connections and submerging Aman paddy fields and vegetable farms.
Panic-stricken residents, carrying children, elderly and livestock, were seen rushing to higher ground, while many took refuge in flood control embankments.
Authorities have issued a red alert in the Teesta basin. Announcements are being made through loudspeakers, urging people living along both banks of the river to move to safe shelters.
Officials said the sudden surge occurred after India opened all gates of the Gajoldoba Barrage amid heavy upstream rainfall.
Around midnight on Sunday, the Teesta River at Dalia Barrage in Nilphamari was flowing 36cm above the danger level. Although 44 sluice gates of the barrage were opened to ease the pressure, water levels continued to rise.
Water also overflowed the flood bypass channel on the eastern side of the Dalia Barrage. The Water Development Board (WDB) warned that the bypass could be cut open anytime if water levels rise further to allow faster drainage.
Dalia Division Executive Engineer Amitav Chowdhury said, “At midnight, the Teesta water level at Dalia point was 36cm above danger level, up from 30cm at 10pm, 29cm at 8 pm, and 10cm at 6pm.”
Between 9am and 3pm on Sunday, water at Dalia rose by 69cm, crossing the danger mark in the afternoon. During the same period, India’s Domohoni recorded a rise of 158cm, while Gajoldoba saw an increase of 220cm.
Meanwhile, Bhutan’s Wangchu River was overflowing the Tala Dam, causing the Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers in India to flow above danger levels.
WDB officials fear that from Monday morning, both rivers may also flow above the danger mark in Bangladesh.
Ahsan Habib, superintending engineer of WDB’s northern zone, said the situation developed as water levels at India’s Domohoni and Gajoldoba points rose sharply. “Additionally, the overflow from Bhutan’s Wangchu River has worsened the condition of the Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers,” he said.
The swelling of the Teesta has placed nearly 2 lakh people in at least 225 villages across Nilphamari, Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, and Gaibandha districts at risk.
Around 50,000 residents in low-lying char areas have already been marooned. Thousands of hectares of cropland have gone underwater, destroying standing Aman paddy, vegetables, and fishponds. Furniture and household goods have also been damaged.
District administrations have opened flood shelters in affected areas and begun distributing dry food and clean drinking water. Medical teams have been deployed to provide emergency healthcare services.
According to the Rangpur Meteorological Office, heavy rainfall is expected over the next 24 hours in Sikkim, Darjeeling, Coochbehar, and northern Bangladesh, which could cause further rises in the Teesta, Brahmaputra, Dharla, and Dudhkumar rivers.
Asadul Habib, chief coordinator of the Teesta River Protection Movement, said, “This devastation repeats every year. Without a permanent solution, the lives and livelihoods of over two crore people will remain at risk.”
He stressed that implementation of the Teesta Master Plan must begin by November to avert future disasters.
Rangpur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Robiul Faisal, Lalmonirhat DC HM Rakib Haydar, and other district officials have been coordinating relief operations since midnight.
Both district and upazila administrations confirmed that rescue and relocation efforts are underway to move affected families to safer locations.
