KURIGRAM (Bangladesh), Nov 10 — On an overcast morning, Nurun Nabi loads bamboo poles and tin sheets onto a wooden boat. His home, built just a year ago on a fragile island in the Brahmaputra River, is on the verge of being swallowed by water.

It is the second time the farmer and father of four has had to move in a year.

“The river is coming closer every day,” Nabi said, his voice tight with exhaustion. “We are born to suffer. Our struggle is never-ending. I’ve lost count of how many times the river took my home.”

Nabi, 50, has no choice but to move to another char — a temporary island formed by river sediment. His rice and lentil fields are already gone, claimed by the advancing current of the Brahmaputra, which originates in the Himalayas and flows through China and India before reaching Bangladesh.

“I don’t know what awaits us there in the new home,” he said, looking towards the wide brown river. “If I’m lucky, maybe a few years. If not, maybe a month. This is our life.”

Every year, hundreds of families in northern Bangladesh’s Kurigram district face the same fate. As riverbanks collapse, people lose not only their homes but also their land, crops, and livestock. The Brahmaputra, Teesta, and Dharla rivers — once lifelines for millions — have become unpredictable, eroding land faster than ever before.

The chars — sandy, shifting islands scattered across the country’s northern plains — are among the most fragile places in Bangladesh. Families rebuild again and again, only for the river to take everything they have.

“The water comes without warning,” said Habibur Rahman, a 70-year-old farmer who has lived on several chars. “You go to sleep at night, and by dawn, the riverbank has moved. You wake up homeless. There is no peace in our life.”

As the world’s eyes turn to Brazil, the host of the UN climate summit from November 10 to 21, Bangladesh’s struggle offers a sobering message for global leaders. The country is often praised as a model of resilience — building embankments, improving flood forecasting, and pioneering community-based adaptation. But without stronger international support and climate finance, those efforts will fall short.

“People here are paying the price for emissions they never made,” said Ainun Nishat, a water resource and climate change specialist. “If COP30 means anything, it must deliver real funding for loss and damage and help vulnerable nations like ours protect lives and land before it’s too late.”

Climate change made visible

Scientists say what is happening in Kurigram is climate change made visible, as the melting of the Himalayan glaciers that feed the Brahmaputra and Teesta rivers accelerates.

“We are seeing rapid glacial melt, almost double the rate of the 1990s. Extra water is flowing downstream, adding to already swollen rivers,” said Nishat, the climate change specialist.

At the same time, the monsoon has grown more erratic — arriving earlier, lasting longer, and falling in intense, sudden bursts. “The rhythm of the seasons has changed,” Nishat said. “When it rains, it rains too much, and when it stops, there are often droughts. This instability is making erosion and floods far worse.”

He added that Bangladesh contributes less than half a per cent of global carbon emissions, yet suffers some of the most serious consequences of climate change.

The World Bank estimates one in every seven Bangladeshis could be displaced by climate-related disasters by 2050.

For Kosim Uddin, 50, a father of seven, moving has become routine. “In my life, the river has taken my home 30 or 35 times—maybe more,” he said.

“Every time we rebuild, the river comes again,” Uddin said, his eyes fixed on the water. “But where can we go? The whole world is water now.”

Women carry much of the burden of the constant displacement. Shahina Begum, 30, a mother of two, recalled standing in waist-deep water as she cooked for her family during floods last year. “We moved six times in 10 years,” she said. “Every time we start again, the river takes it back.”

For Shahina, each move brings new hardships. “It is even more difficult for women and adolescent girls,” she said. “We have to find dry ground, cook, take care of children — and there is no privacy or safety.”

Building for survival

On Kheyar Alga Char, about 300 families have managed to stay put for three years after local groups installed geobags — large sand-filled sacks that strengthen riverbanks against erosion.

“Geobags have made a huge difference,” said Johurul Islam, 39, who lost his home more than 10 times before settling here. “For the last three years, the river didn’t take our land. For the first time, I feel a little confident about the future.”

Local NGOs are also helping to build raised villages — clusters of homes elevated above the ground to withstand seasonal floods.

Standing by the riverbank that has held firm for three years, Islam struck a note of cautious optimism.

“Maybe the river will come again one day,” he said, smiling faintly. Around him, children played on solid ground, their laughter carried by the evening wind. “This time, we’ll be ready. For now, the land is holding — and so are we.” — Reuters 

PETALING JAYA: Fenomena Monsun Timur Laut (MTL) tahun ini dijangka bermula pada 13 November dan berterusan sehingga Mac 2026.

Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia (Met Malaysia), Dr. Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip berkata, MTL kali ini dijangka membawa lima hingga tujuh siri hujan lebat berterusan.

“Keadaan ini mampu mengakibatkan kejadian banjir di kawasan berhampiran sungai dan berkedudukan rendah.

“Selain itu, tiupan angin timur laut secara berterusan dan kencang boleh menyebabkan laut bergelora dan risiko kenaikan paras laut di perairan Laut China Selatan.

“Orang ramai dinasihatkan agar bersiap sedia menghadapi episod hujan lebat MTL dengan sentiasa peka kepada maklumat, nasihat, ramalan dan amaran cuaca yang dikeluarkan,” katanya dalam kenyataan..

Katanya, orang ramai boleh menyemak maklumat melalui laman web www.met.gov.my, aplikasi myCuaca, media sosial rasmi dan talian hotline MET Malaysia 1-300-22-1638.-UTUSAN

MANILA: Sabah, Kedah dan Perak antara kawasan Malaysia menerima tempias taufan terbesar 2025, Fung-Wong yang membadai Filipina kelmarin, menyebabkan hujan lebat dan angin kencang pada Ahad serta semalam.

Turut dikenali sebagai taufan Uwan, Fung-Wong merupakan ribut ke-21 yang melanda Filipina tahun ini.

Taufan Super Fung-Wong melintasi utara pulau paling padat penduduk di Luzon, dengan hujan lebat dan angin kencang berterusan sehingga 185 kilometer sejam (kmj) serta tiupan angin mencecah 225 kmj.

Menurut biro cuaca PAGASA, Fung-Wong bergerak ke arah barat laut bermula semalam, sebelum beralih ke utara pada Selasa, sambil mengekalkan kekuatan taufannya.

Menjelang Rabu, Fung-Wong diramal menuju ke Selat Taiwan dan mula melemah sebelum mendarat di barat Taiwan pada Khamis.

Balai Cerap Hong Kong me­ngeluarkan isyarat amaran pada Isnin berikutan taufan berkenaan memasuki Laut China Selatan dan menuju ke utara berhampiran Taiwan.

“Taufan ini dijangka paling hampir dengan Hong Kong pada Rabu, kira-kira 400 km ke timur bandar raya. Angin akan bertambah kencang mulai Selasa dan Rabu,” menurut ramalan kelmarin.

Sementara itu, Jabatan Meteorologi Thailand menegaskan Fung-Wong tidak akan membadai negara itu atau memberi kesan langsung kepada cuaca tempatan.

Namun, Thailand menasihatkan pelancong yang menuju ke kawasan berhampiran laluan taufan supaya menyemak keadaan cuaca tempatan sebelum berlepas.

PENDUDUK DI ARAH PINDAH

Menurut Pejabat Pertahanan Awam, lebih 30 juta orang mungkin terdedah kepada bahaya yang dicetuskan oleh taufan super Fung-Wong.

Sehingga kini, lebih sejuta penduduk telah dipindahkan dari rumah masing-masing dan sekurang-kurangnya dua maut apabila taufan itu mendarat di pantai timur Filipina.

Timbalan Pentadbir Pertahanan Awam, Rafaelito Alejandro, berkata lebih 1.2 juta orang dipindahkan secara awal di seluruh negara.

Langkah pemindahan ini melibatkan penduduk di kawasan berisiko tinggi di wilayah timur laut, termasuk Bicol, kawasan pesisir yang mudah terjejas oleh ribut Pasifik dan aliran lumpur dari Gunung Mayon, antara gunung berapi paling aktif di negara itu.

Setiausaha Kebajikan Sosial Filipina, Rex Gatchalian berkata, ribuan keluarga kini berlin­dung di dewan sukan, teater dan kemudahan kerajaan, dengan keperluan asas serta makanan disediakan.

Sebagai langkah pencegahan tambahan, sekolah dan pejabat kerajaan diarahkan tutup pada Isnin di seluruh Luzon, termasuk ibu negara Manila.

Sekurang-kurangnya 325 pe­nerbangan domestik dan 61 pe­nerbangan antarabangsa dibatalkan sepanjang hujung ming­gu hingga Isnin.

Di wilayah Aurora, penduduk di bandar Dinalungan dan Dipaculao menutup rumah mereka dengan papan dan kepingan besi bagi menghadapi angin serta hujan lebat, termasuk bimbang pendaratan ribut berlaku pada tengah malam.

Setiausaha Pertahanan, Gilberto Teodoro, menggesa penduduk yang berada di laluan taufan untuk mematuhi arahan pemindahan, menegaskan kegagalan berbuat demikian adalah menyalahi undang-undang.

“Kami meminta orang ramai berpindah awal supaya kita tidak terpaksa melakukan operasi menyelamat pada saat akhir, yang boleh membahayakan nyawa anggota polis, tentera, bomba dan pengawal pantai,” katanya.

Kelmarin, Catanduanes, sebuah pulau kecil yang menurut perkhidmatan cuaca negara berpotensi menerima impak langsung, telah dibadai angin dan hujan lebat.

Ombak besar melimpah ke jalan raya dan menyebabkan beberapa kawasan banjir.

TIADA RUANG BEREHAT

Bencana baharu itu berlaku beberapa hari selepas Taufan Kalmaegi melanda negara tersebut, yang mengorbankan sekurang-kurangnya 224 nyawa dan menyebabkan 135 lagi hilang.

Walaupun bukan ribut paling kuat melanda negara itu, Kalmaegi bergerak perlahan dan menyebabkan banjir ke kawasan padat penduduk. Pihak berkuasa memaklumkan, kebanyakan kematian berlaku akibat lemas.

Usaha pemulihan di Cebu dan Davao, yang terjejas teruk akibat Kalmaegi, terpaksa dihentikan sementara bagi menumpukan sumber yang ada untuk menghadapi Fung-Wong.

Fung-Wong dijangka membawa 200 milimeter hujan ke banyak kawasan, sekali gus menyukarkan usaha tindak balas bencana.

Sebelum ini, Presiden Ferdinand Marcos Jr., mengisytiharkan darurat berikutan kemusnahan meluas yang disebabkan oleh Taufan Kalmaegi serta bencana yang dijangka daripada Fung-Wong.

Filipina belum memohon bantuan antarabangsa susulan kemusnahan yang disebabkan Kalmaegi, namun Teodoro berkata, Amerika Syarikat dan Jepun bersedia membantu jika diperlukan. – AGENSI

PETALING JAYA – Rakyat Malaysia diminta bersiap sedia menghadapi hujan lebat berterusan apabila Monsun Timur Laut (MTL) 2025/2026 dijangka bermula Jumaat ini, 13 November sehingga Mac tahun depan.

Menurut Jabatan Meteorologi (MetMalaysia), sebanyak lima hingga tujuh episod hujan lebat berterusan dijangka berlaku sepanjang tempoh monsun itu.

“Hujan lebat yang berlarutan selama beberapa hari boleh menyebabkan kejadian banjir di kawasan rendah serta berhampiran sungai, selain tiupan angin timur laut yang kencang mampu mengakibatkan laut bergelora dan risiko kenaikan paras air laut di perairan Laut China Selatan,” jelas kenyataan itu.

Ketua Pengarah MetMalaysia, Dr. Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip pula menasihatkan orang ramai agar tidak memandang ringan amaran cuaca yang dikeluarkan.

“Kita nasihatkan orang ramai supaya sentiasa peka terhadap maklumat, nasihat dan amaran cuaca terkini.
Semua ini boleh diperoleh melalui laman web MetMalaysia, aplikasi myCuaca, serta media sosial rasmi kami,” katanya.

Beliau turut menegaskan bahawa kesiapsiagaan awal amat penting dalam menghadapi musim monsun yang berpotensi membawa hujan lebat di beberapa negeri terutama di pantai timur Semenanjung.

Maklumat lanjut boleh diperoleh di laman web www.met.gov.my atau dengan menghubungi talian hotline MetMalaysia 1-300-22-1638.- KOSMO! ONLINE.