Nearly 500 weather disasters hit Rohingya camps in one week
Heavy rains, landslides and storms battered overcrowded refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh, displacing thousands and exposing worsening humanitarian risks
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (MNTV) — Hundreds of weather-related disasters swept through Rohingya refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh over the past week, killing at least 15 people, most of them children, and affecting around 43,000 refugees as heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides, flooding and destructive storms across the sprawling settlements.
According to the Rohingya Coordination Platform’s Daily Incidents Dashboard, 482 weather-related incidents were recorded between July 5 and Sunday. The disasters impacted 9,463 households and forced 9,707 people to temporarily leave their shelters as emergency responders struggled to assist affected families.
The incidents included 259 wind and storm-related events, 164 landslides, 42 floods, five drowning incidents, eight fires, one lightning strike and two infrastructure-related hazards, highlighting the multiple dangers confronting refugees during Bangladesh’s annual monsoon season.
The deadliest incidents were caused by landslides that struck camps built on steep, deforested hillsides. On July 6, eight refugees, including several children, were killed after hillsides collapsed in Camp 7, Camp 11 and Camp 15 following intense rainfall.
Two children also drowned the previous day in separate incidents at Kutupalong Registered Camp and Camp 4 Extension as floodwaters and swollen drainage channels turned hazardous.
The worst single incident occurred on July 8, when a major landslide struck Block A-3 of Camp 5 at around 2:10 p.m., according to the camp administration. Five children were killed and eight other refugees were injured. The injured were taken to hospitals and primary health centers for treatment.
Every year, the monsoon season brings heightened risks of landslides, flash floods and strong winds to the camps, where unstable slopes, poor drainage and overcrowding make evacuation and emergency response particularly challenging.
Humanitarian agencies routinely reinforce shelters and relocate families from the most vulnerable areas, but severe weather continues to claim lives.
Aid organizations have repeatedly warned that climate-related disasters are compounding an already protracted humanitarian crisis.
With prospects for the safe and voluntary return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar remaining remote because of continuing conflict and insecurity, hundreds of thousands continue to face repeated threats from both displacement and increasingly extreme weather.
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