Several thousand people have been marooned and a vast track of crop fields damaged by the rain-triggered flooding in the coastal district of Patuakhali. More than 200 villages in all the seven upazilas of the district have been submerged by the flooding caused by heavy rain and high tide in the last one week. Aman paddy on about 100 hectares of land and vegetable plots has been washed away by the flooding, sources at the Department of Agricultural Extension said. Road communication with different areas including the Patuakhali town has remained suspended as half of the150km roads in the district have gone under water. The district town has also been badly affected as two-thirds of its areas have gone under 2 to 3 feet water, causing immense sufferings of the town people.