‘Suddenly a loud noise, and I couldn’t see anything under the soil’

Bibi Kulsum Akter stared silently at her father's photograph hanging on the wall. After a few moments, she stood up and led the way outside. Pointing towards the foot of a nearby hill, the 14-year-old said, "That’s where our house was. That’s where my father and my baby sister died."

Kulsum, now a ninth-grader, lives in the IW Colony of Chattogram’s Sholashahar area. Though three years have passed, the memories of that dawn remain as vivid as if they happened yesterday.

The incident occurred in the early hours of 27 August 2023. At around 5:30 am, heavy rain pounded the tin roof of the family's small home as strong winds swept through the area. The family was asleep when a loud rumble suddenly jolted Kulsum awake. Before anyone could react, a section of the hillside collapsed, bringing down a wall that crushed their house.

"There was a deafening sound. Suddenly, I was covered in soil and couldn't see a thing," Kulsum recalled. "Bricks had fallen on me. All I could do was scream for my mother and father."

The entire family—Kulsum’s father Mohammad Sohel, her mother Sharifa Begum, her seven-month-old sister Bibi Jannat and Kulsum herself had been sharing a single bed. Sohel and baby Jannat died on the spot, crushed beneath the weight of the wall. Sharifa and Kulsum were trapped in another part of the ruins.

Sharifa Begum sat nearby, listening to her daughter’s account. Breaking her silence, she added her own memories of the rescue. "The neighbours rushed in and managed to pull me and my eldest daughter out. But they couldn't reach my husband or my baby. It was the Fire Service that eventually recovered their bodies."

Sharifa paused several times while speaking, wiping away tears with her scarf.

"Ever since that day, rain terrifies me. Whenever dark clouds gather, my heart starts pounding. I fear something like that will happen again," she said.

The fear has not left Kulsum either. "When it rains at night, my sleep breaks," she said. "I keep thinking the hill will collapse again. I can’t stay in a room alone anymore."

Since the accident, the administration has installed an iron fence along a section of the hill. Sharifa and her daughter now live in a small, two-room house right next to that fence.

Though they moved a short distance from the original spot, the hill is still right in front of their eyes. The landslide didn't just take Kulsum’s father and sister, it fundamentally altered the course of the family's life.

Sohel was the family's sole breadwinner, running a small tea stall in Sholashahar. After his death, Sharifa took over the shop. She manages the stall in the early hours and then works as a domestic helper in several houses. Despite the grueling schedule, she still struggles to make ends meet.

Her biggest worry is her daughter's education. "When her father was alive, she had a tutor. I can't afford that anymore," Sharifa said. "I want my girl to stay in school but it’s so hard to bear all the expenses alone."

As they spoke, a neighbour arrived with grim news. 13-year-old Samia Islam had just died in another landslide at the nearby Muktijoddha hill in Mayor Goli. The child had lost her life at 11:30 am the previous day. Upon hearing the news, Kulsum went silent. After a long pause, she whispered, "Another one has died."

Kulsum didn't say another word. She turned her gaze back toward her father's photograph. Outside, the rain began to pour down heavily once more.