Nine people, including eight Rohingya refugees and one local resident, were killed in four separate landslides in Cox’s Bazar overnight as heavy monsoon rains battered the district, officials said Monday (July 7). At least five others were injured.
The Cox’s Bazar meteorological office recorded 274 millimeters of rainfall in the 24 hours to Monday morning. A well-marked low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal and an active monsoon trough have raised fears of further landslides in the hilly areas of the district and Rohingya camps.
The deadliest incident occurred at Rohingya Camp 11 in Ukhia, where a hillside collapsed onto the home of Abdur Razzak’s family around midnight. Umme Habiba, 27; Tanjina Akhter, 13; Mohammad Rihan, 5; and Harunur Rashid, 3, were killed. One injured person was hospitalized. Neighboring families were evacuated to safer locations.
At Camp 7 in Kutupalong, Ukhia, a mudslide at approximately 1:45am killed a seven-year-old Rohingya child named Ekram in block D-7.
At Camp 15 in Jamtoli, Ukhia, a hillside collapsed onto the home of Mohammad Kamal Hossain at around 1:10am, killing Kamal Hossain, 44; his wife Humaira Begum, 39; and their four-year-old son Mohammad Anas. Two others were rescued after a three-hour operation and hospitalized.
In Cox’s Bazar city’s Ward 12, a landslide at approximately 4:30am Monday destroyed the home of local resident Ali Akbar, burying him, his wife, and son. Ali Akbar was declared dead at the district hospital. Two family members are receiving treatment.
Ukhia Fire Service station officer Dollar Tripura said all incidents occurred within a short span overnight. “Multiple rescue teams deployed immediately. Bodies were recovered and the injured were sent to hospitals throughout the night,” he said.
Camp 11 in-charge Mohammad Arafatul Alam said several hillsides in the camp have become extremely vulnerable and families at risk are being relocated to safer ground.
Local maritime ports at Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla, and Payra have been placed on local warning signal No. 3.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report