Chapainawabganj, Aug. 17 -- Water levels in the Padma River have started receding but the flood situation in the northern district of Chapainawabganj remains unchanged, leaving affected people in distress.

In the last 24 hours till 9am on Sunday, the water level in the river dropped 17 centimeters and is now 59 centimetres below the danger mark, indicating relief to flood-hit people, said Ahsan Habib, an engineer at Water Development Board in the district.

The prolonged flooding over the past week has submerged low-lying areas of Sadar and Shibganj upazilas, stranding around 8,500 families and inundating about 2,000 hectares of crops, including Aush, Aman and vegetables, causing huge financial losses to farmers.

Meanwhile, some residen...