Two people, including a child, were killed in separate incidents of landslides triggered by heavy rain in Ukhia Rohingya camp and its nearby area in Cox’s Bazar district on Wednesday.
A landslide occurred at F1 block of Rohingya camp No. 11 in Ukhia upazila and its nearby Balukhali area early in the morning.
One of the deceased was identified as Rohingya national Anwar Islam, son of Dil Mohammad, a resident of F1 Block, while a child named Sifat, son of Md Alam, a local resident, was killed in another landslide that took place in the area adjacent to Rohingya camp No. 8.
Meanwhile, the hill collapsed at several points on Cox's Bazar Marine Drive road from Darianagar to Himchhari. Due to this, the traffic movement on the road remained stopped since morning. After the army personnel removed the soil from the road, the traffic on the road became normal in the afternoon. Apart from this, continuous rain has caused flooding in the Rohingya camp. Hundreds of houses in the camp were damaged.
Additional Commissioner of Refugee Relief and Repatriation Office Shamsud Dauza Nayan said moderate to heavy rain continued intermittently throughout the day on Tuesday. It turned into heavy rain after midnight. At one point around 4:00am, a landslide occurred in the F-Block of camp No. 11 at Balukhali in Ukhia upazila. A Rohingya national died when a residential house collapsed. Volunteers at the camp were carrying out rescue operations.
On the other hand, Ukhia Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shamim Hossain said that a child named Sifat died due to being crushed by the hill soil in Balukhali camp No. 8. The father of the deceased child, Md Alam, is a local Bangladeshi resident.
Cox's Bazar district has been experiencing moderate to heavy rains for weeks. The water in various rivers of the district is increasing. In several upazilas of the district, 10 villages have been flooded due to rain and onrush of hilly water.
The Meteorological Office has issued local warning number 3 to Cox's Bazar coast due to the formation of low pressure clouds over the sea. The sea is rough.
The district administration has issued a warning to the tourists coming to Cox's Bazar beach, asking them not to bathe in the sea.
On June 19, two local Bangladeshi residents and 8 Rohingyas were killed in landslides in and around the Rohingya camps.
