Staff Reporter :
At least 13 people have been killed in landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in Rangamati and Cox’s Bazar districts causing panic to people living in the hill slopes of more such incidents. The dead includes one from wall collapse in Shariatpur, police and local administration sources confirmed the deaths.
Refugee camps at Teknaf are also facing danger from heavy downpour in stormy weather. International Organization for Migration (IOM) issued warning for safety of Rohingya refugees taking shelter in camps escaping from Myanmar.
Locally over three lakh people are marooned at Pakua and Chokoria upazila of Cox’s Bazar where 30 thousand homes in 25 unions have been submerged. At Khagrachari several hundred families moved to disaster shelters voluntarily to avoid mishaps following the death of several people from landslide in the hills.
Among landslides death 11 were killed in Naniarchar upazila of Rangamati and one in Maheshkhali upazila of Cox’s Bazar, our local correspondents report.
Met Office has issued alert for heavy rains and stormy weather in Chottogram division as
maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra have been advised to keep hoisted local cautionary signal No-3 as deep convection is continuing over the North Bay and adjoining coastal area of Bangladesh.
Heavy rainfall specially has taken the big tolls in Tekhnaf, Ukhia, Chokoria and Pekua upazilas. Electricity supply remained disrupted in those areas as the 33 KV transmission lines of Rural Electrification Board has been snapped due to tree uprooting at many places.
Rohingra refugee cams at Cox’s Bazar is facing threat of inundation and muddy homes and chaos if heavy rainfall continues. Meanwhile 200 refugee shelters at Ukia and Tekhnaf have been destroyed and damaged by heavy railfall.
At some other places over 50 refugee shelters became inundated from heavy rainfall, secretary of Kotupalong-2 refugee shelters Mohamamd Nur told the media yesterday.
Heavy monsoon rains that began on Saturday have caused severe structural damage to Cox’s Bazar Rohingya refugee camps, said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday calling for early measures to protect the tent people.
The landslide in the hills took place in Naniarchar’s Boro Kul Para, Hati Mara and Siyalli Para took place in the early hours of Tuesday, triggered by non-stop rain since Sunday.
Four of the victims were killed in Darmachandpara, while four members of a family in Boro Poolpara and three in Hatimara in the upazila, said Tridip Kanti Das, member of Rangamati Parbotto Zila Parishad.
In Boro Kul Para, those killed were Surendra Lal Chakma, 48, his wife Rajjo Debi Chakma, 45, and their daughter Sonali Chakma, 9, and another boy Rumen Chakma, 12.
In Hati Mara, two of the three killed were identified as Rita Chakma and Riten Chakma. In Siyalli Para, Fulo Debi Chakma, Eti Chakma and a two-month-old baby died.
Naniarchar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Muhammad Abdul Latif confirmed the casualties and their identities. Further rescue works are underway.
In Cox’s Bazar, Badsha Mia, 35, was buried alive around 6:00am in Moheshkhali upazila, our local staff correspondent reports quoting Pradip Kumar Das, officer-in-charge of Maheshkhali Police Station.
The body has been handed over to the family. The district administration has offered Tk 20,000 as aid to the family.
It is to be noted that last year, during the monsoon, Bangladesh’s most devastating series of landslides in a decade killed at least 170 people, 120 alone in Rangamati.
During that time, experts blamed errant hill-cutting as the main cause of landslides.
