Rain adds to Rohingya woes in camps
HEAVY monsoon rains triggered landslides and flash floods in refugees’ camps, displacing thousands of Rohingya Muslims in southeastern Bangladesh last week, UN and other officials said last Friday (30), with further rainfall expected.
At least six Rohingya, including three children, died in landslides and flooding, while 15 Bangladeshis were killed and more than 200,000 stranded by flooding in Cox’s Bazar, the district administrator, Mamunur Rashid, said.
The Rohingya refugees mostly live in shacks made of bamboo and plastic sheets that cling to steep, bare hills. TV footage showed flooded homes and muddy water cascading down steps and hillsides. Children played in chest-high waters.
“This is like a nightmare,” said Rohingya Rokeya Begum. “I have never seen such flooding in the camps in four years. When the water came, there was nobody from my family at home to help. I was alone but I could take my belongings to a safer place. Now I am staying with another family.”
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said more than 21,000 refugees had been “affected” by the flooding, while nearly 4,000 shelters had been damaged or destroyed.
It said more than 13,000 were forced to relocate in the camps, while thousands of facilities were damaged, including health clinics and toilets. Access has been hindered due to damage to roads. And the flooding is likely to get worse.
“Heavy rainfall is expected during the next few days and challenges are likely to increase,” said Manuel Marques Pereira, deputy chief of mission in Bangladesh for the UN’s International Organization for Migration.