Landslides kill 9 in Bangladeshi refugee camps

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - At least 9 people, including 7 Rohingya, were killed in landslides in Bangladesh's southeastern Cox’s Bazar districts where over 1.2 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals have been living since 2017.

The majority of Rohingya fled a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine, Myanmar in 2017. Most of them are housed in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar, but since late 2020 about 35,000 have been relocated to the island of Bhasan Char.

“Heavy rains make the camps vulnerable to landslides. The downpour caused four separate landslides in the camps killing 9 people since early Wednesday. Of them, 7 were Rohingya and one was local,” Md Shamsud Douza, additional refugee relief and repatriation commissioner in Cox’s Bazar, told Anadolu over the phone.

Heavy rains have been continuing across the country for the last several days.

Many refugee shelters are located near the hills. Even before this, there have been incidents of mountain landslides in Rohingya refugee camps. Announcement is being made in the area to evacuate people safely to avoid landslides.

The Meteorological Department said in its weather forecast that due to active monsoon, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over many districts across the country. During the next 72 hours, landslides may occur at places over the hilly regions of southeastern Chattogram and eastern Sylhet divisions, it added.

Cox’s Bazar recorded 37mm of rain on Wednesday, it added.​​​​​​​