The flood risk in Gaibandha, Natore and Rajshahi continued to worsen over the course of Friday night and Saturday morning. This is despite water levels in all major rivers falling to below the danger level, and the situation in other northern districts showing signs of alleviating. In Gaibandha District, the upazilas of Sadullapur, Gobindaganj, Palashbari and Sadar have fared the worst, with fresh areas flooded as the Karatoa river swelled during the night, reports our correspondent. Officials from the Water Development Board said that with the rise in the water level in the Karatoa, 12 unions and the municipality of Gobindaganj in Gobindaganj upazila were flooded and that 29,000 families had been stranded, with many taking shelter on the nearby embankment, said M Zahirul Islam, Upazila Project Implementation Officer (PIO). Five unions including Kishorgari and Hossainpur in Palashbari upazilas were also submerged and as many as 17,000 families were cut off and are in difficulty, said M Shahinur Alam, PIO of the upazila. A portion of the Karatoa Flood Control Embankment in the Cherenga area of Darbasta union in Gobindaganj upazila had been washed away by the pressure of the river water, resulting in the inundation of fresh areas of the union, said executive engineer of BWDB M Mahbubur Rahman. The flooding has caused a total of 13,860 hectares of land of standing crops particularly T-Aman paddy, Aman seed bed and summer vegetables of the upazilas to be underwater, said deputy director of Department of Agriculture Extension AKM Ruhul Amin. As many as 118 government primary schools in the upazilas have been closed, said M. Aminul Islam Mondal, District Primary Education Officer. In Natore, the situation in Singra upazila deteriorated as the Atrai River was flowing 70cm above the danger mark. Paddy fields extending over 800 bighas of land in Temuk Nowdapara beel went under water as due to breach in a dam on the Sidhakhali River. According to reports from our Rajshahi correspondent, floodwater engulfed Tanore, Mohanpur and Bagmara upazilas of the district when an embankment of the Shiba River collapsed in the Bhimnagar area of Mohanpur upazila inundating around 350 fish farming ponds. The devastating flood washed away fish worth up to Tk1.17 crore way from 350 commercial fish farming ponds in the district. The loss caused by the deluge in Tanore, Mohanpur and Bagmara is the worst, said Subhash Chandra Saha, District Fisheries Officer. Around 53.25 metric tons of fish worth about Tk1.17 crore in 320 ponds in Bagmara,Mohanpur and Puthiya upazilas were flooded. 1.12 tons of juvenile fish, valued at around Tk11 lakh were badly affected0, he added. Shubhash Saha said 208 commercial hatcheries belonging to 156 fish farmers were totally inundated washing out 22 metric tons of fish and 70 metric tons of juvenile fish in Bagmara upazila alone. Meanwhile, crops over around 6,132 hectares of land were inundated in four upazilas of the district, said Deb Dulal Dhali, Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE). According to official reports, Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Shah Kamal revealed on Saturday that after an inter-ministerial meeting that 27 districts have been affected by flood in the northern region, leaving 57.19 lakh people cut off and 93 dead.