16,000 Rohingya affected by heavy rainfall: UNHCR

Collected Photo

Heavy to very heavy rainfall has triggered landslides, flash floods and waterlogging across Cox’s Bazar and parts of Chattogram, affecting nearly 16,000 Rohingya refugees, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), heavy rainfall is expected to continue for the next 48 hours. Local cautionary signal No. 3 remains in force for the seaports of Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra.

UNHCR, citing the Rohingya Coordination Platform’s daily incident dashboard, said that between July 4 and the morning of July 7, at least 10 Rohingya were killed and 10 others injured in rain-related incidents, including landslides and flash floods. A total of 15,813 refugees were affected, while 3,182 were displaced.

The report recorded 160 disaster incidents, including 52 landslides, 14 floods and 83 storm-related events. Around 1,614 shelters were partially damaged and 10 were completely destroyed.

Humanitarian agencies are continuing emergency rescue, shelter, food and medical assistance, but the risk of further landslides and flooding remains high as heavy rain is forecast to persist.

The BMD weather station in Cox’s Bazar recorded 129 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 6:00 pm on July 7, increasing the risk of additional landslides and localized flooding.