By Mizan RahmanDhakaFlood situation worsened yesterday in northern districts of Bangladesh following inundation of fresh areas as major rivers were flowing above danger marks in the Brahmaputra basin.Officials in the Water Development Board (WDB) said the situation might deteriorate in the next 24 hours as onrush of waters from upstream continued in the basin area.According to sources in northern district administrations, over 350,000 people in the low-lying areas of Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra and Sirajganj districts have been marooned.Erosion by big river like Brahmaputra, Dharla, Teesta, Dudhkumar, Ghaghot and Jamuna has been wreaking havoc along their courses in these districts, official and local sources said.Sources in Kurigram district administration said some 270,000 people in all nine sub-districts of the worst-hit district have been affected by flooding.Some 4,240 houses with properties have been destroyed and standing crops on 8,475 hectares were totally damaged in the district.Some 37,000 houses, scores of educational institutions, dozens of bridges and many rural roads in the low-lying areas have been either partially or totally damaged.The district administration has opened flood shelters to provide the affected people with food and medical assistance. Three vigilance teams, each headed by an additional deputy commissioner, have been set up for monitoring the situation.Habibur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Kurigram, told reporters that he was expecting special allocation of more 500 tonnes of rice and 1mn taka from the government for the flood victims.Seeking quick emergency relief, chairmen of Noyarhat and Ostomir unions said that the situation deteriorated so fast that people did not have time to save their belongings.A Water Development Board official in Gaibandha said that overflowing rivers were posing a threaten to flood control embankments there.“We are conducting emergency protection work at 30 points to save the flood control embankments, revetments and other devices to prevent flood waters from entering the main land of Gaibandha,” he added.