LANDSLIDES IN BANGLADESH ROHINGYA CAMPS KILLS 9 PEOPLE

Monsoon flooding and muddy terrain in Cox's Bazar. Source: USA for UNHCR / Deadly floods and landslides hit Rohingya camps in Bangladesh

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Heavy monsoon downpours have triggered a series of devastating landslides in southeastern Bangladesh, killing at least eight Rohingya refugees and one local resident, officials confirmed.

The disasters occurred overnight as torrential rains destabilized the steep, deforested hillsides of the sprawling refugee settlements in Cox's Bazar, which house more than 1.2 million Rohingya Muslims who fled military persecution in neighboring Myanmar.

According to camp authorities and emergency responders, the victims—including women and children—were buried alive when torrents of mud and debris collapsed onto their makeshift shelters while they slept. Search and rescue teams, aided by community volunteers, worked through the night to recover bodies from the mud.

A separate landslide in a nearby municipality claimed the life of a Bangladeshi resident, bringing the region's initial death toll to nine.

The tragedy underscores the extreme vulnerability of the world’s largest refugee settlement to seasonal weather extremes. To accommodate the massive population, thousands of families live in densely packed shelters constructed from fragile bamboo and plastic tarps, built directly on highly unstable slopes.

With the local Meteorological Department recording over 100 mm of rain and forecasting continued heavy downpours, authorities have launched an emergency evacuation protocol. Safety teams are actively working to relocate thousands of refugees out of high-risk zones and into temporary community centers, schools, and sturdier structures.

Environmental experts and humanitarian agencies have long warned of the compounding dangers in Cox's Bazar, where extensive deforestation and the natural topography create a severe, recurring risk of flash floods and landslides during the annual monsoon season.