Torrential rainfall over the past four days has triggered a series of landslides across Cox’s Bazar, leaving at least 19 people dead, including 16 Rohingyas and three members of the local community, as the district continues to grapple with flooding and widespread disruptions.
According to the Cox’s Bazar Meteorological Office, the district recorded a cumulative rainfall of 506 millimetres over four days. Assistant meteorologist Abdul Hannan said 240mm of rain fell on Sunday, followed by 129mm on Monday, 69mm on Tuesday and another 68mm between 6:00 am and 3:00 pm on Wednesday.
The continuous downpour has inundated low-lying areas, triggered flash floods and caused seven separate landslides across the district.
The latest tragedy occurred around 3:00 pm on Wednesday at Camp-5 in Ukhiya Rohingya camp, where a landslide buried a madrasa and a maktab.
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said 13 children were rescued from the debris. Eight of them died — four at the scene and four later at hospitals. The remaining five are receiving treatment at GK Hospital in Camp-3, Friendship Hospital in Camp-5 and IRC Hospital in Camp-6.
The latest deaths came just two days after three separate landslides struck Rohingya camps in Ukhiya early Monday.
In Camp-15 at Jamtoli, Mohammad Kamal Hossain, 44, his wife Humayra Begum, 39, and their four-year-old son Mohammad Anas were killed when a hillside collapsed onto their shelter.
In Camp-7 at Kutupalong, seven-year-old Ekram died after being buried by a mudslide.
Another occurred at Dariyanagar in Cox’s Bazar Sadar, resulting in the death of a woman named Nasima Akter and serious injuries to her husband, Jasim Uddin, as well as in Camp-11 in Balukhali, which claimed the lives of Umme Habiba, 27, Tanzina Akter, 13, Mohammad Rihan, 5, and Harunur Rashid, 3.
“The humanitarian crisis has been compounded by natural disasters. We are relocating Rohingyas living in high-risk areas to safer places,” RRRC Mizanur Rahman said.
Outside the camps, landslides also claimed three local lives.
In Sattar Ghona area of Cox’s Bazar town, Ali Akbar, 50, died after a hill collapsed onto his tin-roofed house late Monday night, according to his son Arafat Hossain.
In Pekua’s Toitong union, eight-year-old Mohammad Minhaj was killed after a hillside collapsed onto a house at Alammyar Jhiri. His grandmother Jannatul Ferdous was injured.
On Tuesday afternoon, another landslide at Dariyanagar in Cox’s Bazar Sadar killed a woman, Nasima Akter, while seriously injuring her husband, Jasim Uddin, and another family member.
District Commissioner Md A Mannan said an emergency meeting had been held involving all relevant government agencies and that efforts were underway to evacuate people living in landslide-prone areas.
“No one will be allowed to remain in high-risk zones in violation of official instructions,” he said.
Continuous rainfall has also caused flooding in several upazilas, while the risk of further landslides remains high. Local authorities have kept cyclone shelters ready and urged residents living near hillsides, slopes and flood-prone lowlands to move to safer locations immediately.
The Meteorological Department has maintained Local Warning Signal No. 3 for the seaports and forecast that adverse weather conditions are likely to persist over the next few days.
The district administration has also opened an emergency control room to coordinate rescue and relief operations and urged residents to follow official safety instructions until the weather improves.
By Abdu Rashid Manik
Photo: Mohammad Sadek (Rohingya Independent Journalist)
