Hundreds of families were displaced overnight after fast-moving currents ate through a stretch of riverside settlement in the southern char lands, local officials said, with more homes at risk as water levels rise.
The erosion accelerated sharply after two days of heavy upstream rainfall pushed the river well above its seasonal average, according to the regional water development office. Local officials said nearly 200 households had lost their homes by Wednesday morning, with the number expected to rise.
“We had maybe twenty minutes’ warning before the bank gave way,” said one resident who relocated belongings to higher ground overnight. “We’ve seen erosion before, but never this fast.”
Disaster response teams have set up temporary shelter on nearby embankments and begun distributing dry food, drinking water and tarpaulin sheets. Residents say permanent relocation support has been slow to arrive in past erosion seasons, and community leaders are pressing the district administration for a faster response this time.
The water development board said it is assessing whether emergency bank-protection work is feasible before the next spell of rain, though officials cautioned that a lasting fix would likely require a longer-term river-training project already under discussion for the wider stretch.
