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Heavy rainfall likely in current month of August

The country may witness heavy rainfall in August as monsoon will remain active throughout the month, an official of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) told BSS today.“Heavy to very heavy rainfall may occur at the end of this week. Like the month of July, heavy rainfall is likely in August too,” he said.According to long-range weather outlook of BMD, Bangladesh experienced more rainfall than the normal level in July and more rainfall than normal may occur in the current month too.“We recorded the highest rainfall 139 mm in Dhaka city on June 12 this year while the second highest rainfall 123 mm on August 3,” said Bazlur Rashid, a meteorologist of BMD.“The most rainfall takes place in the country in July and August months of the rainy season,” he added.“The country has been witnessing a powerful monsoon since June 12... Under the influence of this monsoon, heavy rainfalls are occurring in different parts of the country,” Bazlur Rashid said.A strong monsoon is imminent at end of this week that may trigger floods in the low-lying areas, Sarder Udoy Raihan, an official of Flood Forecasting and warning Centre (FFWC), said.“As the Brahmaputra-Jamuna and Surma-Kushiyara rivers are in the rising trend, the low-lying areas of north and northeast regions might be flooded this month,” he added.Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), a leading expert agency on water resources, recently revealed a report fearing three major rivers to grasp over 3,222 hectares of land by the end of the current 2017.“The three major rivers (the Jamuna, the Ganges and the Padma) in total may cause erosion of 3,222 hectares of land (in 2017),” the report added.Meanwhile, water levels at 35 river stations monitored by the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) today marked rises while 53 stations recorded fall.Among the 90 monitored water level stations, two river stations have been registered steady while water level at two river stations are flowing above danger level, a bulletin issued by the FFWC said.The Ganges-Padma rivers are in the falling trend, while the Brahmaputra-Jamuna and Surma-Kushiyara rivers are in the rising trend.The Brahmaputra-Jamuna River and the Surma-Kushiyara rivers are likely to continue rising in next 24 hours.A total of 135 mm rainfall was recorded at Habiganj station during the last 24 hours ending at 6 am today.Source: BSS