New areas in Jamalganj upazila of Sunamganj flooded after cracks took place at different points on the embankment of Paknar Haor last night.
All measures that have been taken by locals to save the embankment along the Paknar Haor went vain due to excessive rains and onrush of upstream hill waters.
About 8,000 hectors of fresh cropland have so far gone under the water, said Prashun Kumar Chakrabarti, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Jamalganj.
The UNO said, “The effort of thousands of people to save the embankment was praiseworthy, but we lost it last night.
After cracks appeared on the embankment at Oraorkandi point around 5:00am, the water washed away huge amount of Boro paddy, Prashun Kumar said.
Paknar Haor was the lone haor which remained safe after onrush of water damaged Shanir Haor in Tahirpur upazila of the district yesterday.
The gushing water entered through the cracks and inundated many villages.
An unusually early flashflood struck late March in the entire haor region of Bangladesh's northeast and damaged Boro crops in 1.8 lakh hectares of land in Sunamganj, Netrakona, Moulvibazar and some other adjoining districts.
Conservative estimates put the loss of rice at half a million tonnes.
According to statistics disclosed by the government yesterday, around 1,276 tonnes of fish and 3,844 ducks died in the haors where the level of dissolved oxygen dropped.