DHAKA: At least six people, including three Rohingya refugees, died and several others were injured today after heavy rains triggered landslides in southeastern Bangladesh, officials said.
The landslides took place in two separate places in the border district of Coxs Bazar, including the Rohingya camps, after three days of intense late monsoon rains, said Mohammad Shamsud Douza, a senior government official overseeing refugee affairs.
More than 1 million Rohingya live in squalid camps in Coxs Bazar, the worlds largest refugee settlement, many having fled from a military crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar in 2017.
The refugees mostly live in flimsy shelters made of bamboo and plastic sheets, often situated on unstable, steep hillsides.
Three other people were killed in Coxs Bazar town, where heavy rainfall has caused widespread waterlogging, another official said.
The Coxs Bazar weather office recorded 378mm of rainfall from 6am yesterday to 6am today, marking the highest rainfall of the monsoon season so far, meteorologist Abdul Hannan said.
The South Asian country is still recovering from a deadly flood after torrential rains and upstream water from India left more than 70 dead and displaced millions.
