Monsoon landslides kill nine in southeast Bangladesh
Eight Rohingya refugees and one Bangladeshi man died after rain-soaked hillsides collapsed in Cox’s Bazar, officials said.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
2 min read
Monsoon landslides killed at least nine people in southeastern Bangladesh, including eight Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, officials told The Associated Press and Reuters. The deaths underline the danger facing people living in crowded camps built on steep, bare hillsides during the annual rains.
AP and Reuters reported that hillsides gave way at four places in the refugee camps between late Sunday and early Monday. Mud and debris covered shelters while residents were sleeping, according to officials cited by the news agencies.
Dollar Tripura, a civil defence official in Cox’s Bazar district, told AP that rescuers recovered seven bodies and refugees found another. Police said a Bangladeshi man also died when a hillside collapsed onto his home.
Refugee family among the dead
Reuters reported that Rohingya refugee Ali Ahmed lost his parents and younger brother when their shelter was buried. Ahmed told Reuters that his family had fled Myanmar in 2017 and that he was now uncertain about what would happen to him after their deaths.
More than one million Rohingya live in camps in Cox’s Bazar, AP and Reuters reported. Many arrived after fleeing Myanmar in 2017 following a military crackdown.
The settlement is widely described as the world’s largest refugee camp, and its shelters are vulnerable to extreme weather, according to AP and Reuters. Many homes are made from bamboo and plastic sheeting and sit on deforested slopes, which raises the risk of landslides and flooding during the monsoon.
The United Nations Refugee Agency said 36 refugees died in similar landslides between 2021 and 2026, according to the reports. The latest deaths came as Bangladesh’s meteorological department forecast more heavy rain in the coming days.
Authorities move people from risky slopes
Officials have moved about 1,000 refugees away from slopes considered at risk of landslides, AP and Reuters reported. Authorities are also preparing to relocate several thousand more people from dangerous areas.
The camps face pressure beyond the weather. AP and Reuters reported that renewed fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine state between the military and the Arakan Army has raised fears that more people could try to cross into Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi authorities have increased monitoring near the border, according to the reports, after accounts of people gathering close to the frontier. Cox’s Bazar remains exposed to further rain-related hazards as the monsoon continues.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.