DHAKA, 8 March 2005 — Bangladesh’s underground water level seems to have undergone a unique transformation in the aftermath of the recent tsunami that hit several South and Southeast Asian countries following an earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia.
State-run Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) monitored a significant fluctuation of water level in various parts of the country. Khandakar Fazal Hasan, chief geologist of Survey and Monitoring Project for Development of Minor Irrigation, told newsmen in Dhaka yesterday that the maximum fluctuation was recorded in the southwestern district of Magura, where the rise and fall of ground water level was about 1.85 meters.
The geologist explained that on the day of tsunami, the water level of the district was 4.12 meters. When the earthquake struck, the level first went down at 5.20m and came up at 3.40 meters abruptly. A total of 109 automatic water level recorders in the country’s 108 sub-districts took the data of the effect of earthquake. The fluctuation was severe in Jessore, Satkhira, Chuadanga, Faridpur and Rajbari districts.
The rise and fall of static water level was 1.2 meters and 1.5 meters in Faridpur and Rajbari sub-district respectively.
Mild fluctuation of ground water was observed in the northern districts of the country.
