In Cox’s Bazar, at least six Rohingyas were murdered in landslides and flooding, while 15 Bangladeshis were killed and more than 200,000 people were stranded due to water.
Heavy monsoon rains produced landslides and flash floods in refugee camps in southern Bangladesh this week, displacing thousands of Rohingya Muslims, according to UN and other officials, with more heavy rain predicted.
According to Mamunur Rashid, the district administrator, at least six Rohingyas, including three children, died in landslides and flooding, while 15 Bangladeshis were murdered and more than 200,000 people were stranded by water in Cox’s Bazar.
After fleeing a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017, around one million Rohingyas now live in cramped camps in the border area of Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement.
The refugees are usually housed in bamboo and plastic sheet shacks that cling to steep, barren hillsides. Flooded homes and filthy water gushing down staircases and hillsides were seen on television. Children splashed around in water up to their chests.
Rokeya Begum, a Rohingya, described the situation as “a nightmare.” “In four years, I have never seen such flooding in the camps. When the flood arrived, no one in my family was home to assist. I was alone, but I could transport my possessions to a more secure location. I’m now staying with a different family.”
More than 21,000 refugees were “affected” by the flooding, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and approximately 4,000 shelters were damaged or destroyed.
