OUR CORRESPONDENTS, Barisal and Patuakhali Tidal waves coupled with heavy rain over the past few days have submerged vast areas in Barisal, Patuakhali and Barguna. The high tide under the influence of the full moon aggravated the situation.

The Barisal Port Authority has suspended the operation of passenger carrying vessels that are less than 65 feet in length. Lowlying areas of the towns, and shoals, marshes, ponds, and canals in different upazilas of the districts are inundated.
Most parts of the Patuakhali town and low lying areas at the district headquarter, and at Galachipa, Kalapara, Baufal, Dumki, Mirzaganj, and Dashmina upazilas are under water.

About 40 shoals in these upazilas are under three to five feet of surging water that has washed away about 300 metres of the flood control embankment at Kalapara leaving over 50 families homeless.

The worst affected shoals are Char Ganga and Lata Chapli under Kalapara; Char Halim, Char Agunmukha, Char Karforma, Char Bangla under Galachipa; Ramgopaldi, Khalishakhali and Alipura under Dashmina; Muradia under Dumki; and North Badura under the district headquarter. At least 40,000 people are affected by the flood in the area.
About two kilometres of the flood control embankment have been badly damaged in the area, officials of the Water Development Board and the upazila administrations said.

Officials of the Patuakhali fisheries department said shrimps of about 1,200 shrimp farms and fishes of over 5,000 ponds in the seven upazilas have been washed away.

They said the fisheries department have already distributed about 1,000 metres of nets to the fish farm owners at a subsidised rate to protect the fishes. But this will be of little use as most of the ponds and enclosures have already been flooded, they said.
Most areas of the Barguna town have gone under water and about 20,000 people in the low-lying areas of the district have been marooned.

Flood protection embankments at Babuganj, Baliatoli, Falishatoli, Kalmegha, and Bogi in the Barguna district headquarter are threatened.

Fishes worth lakhs of takas have been washed away as about 100 farms at the district headquarter, Amtoli, Taltoli, and Patharghata have been inundated, fisheries officials said.