Heavy rains in Chattogram: Landslides kill 22 in three days

Heavy rain triggered by a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal has continued across the Chattogram region for four consecutive days. Over the past three days, landslides and wall collapses caused by the rain have killed 22 people in three districts of the region. Seven of those killed on Wednesday were children.

The heavy rainfall also caused waterlogging in Chattogram city for the second straight day. Floodwater, ranging from knee- to waist-deep, inundated several areas. Train services between Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar were suspended after railway tracks were submerged.

Experts and meteorologists say the amount of rainfall recorded in Chattogram this time cannot be described as entirely abnormal, but neither is it typical.

They noted that there was very little rain during the first 20 days of the Bengali month of Ashar, making the recent downpour appear unusually intense.

Such heavy rainfall is common during the monsoon when a low-pressure system develops over the Bay of Bengal, they said, and that is what has happened this time.

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, the monsoon is currently active over the country and remains strong over the northern Bay of Bengal. Under its influence, Chattogram city has been experiencing continuous rainfall for the past four days. Heavy rain resumed on Wednesday morning and is expected to continue for another two days.

A total of 179.4 millimetres of rainfall was recorded in the 24 hours until 3:00pm on Wednesday. The previous day, 412 millimetres of rain fell in Chattogram, the highest 24-hour rainfall recorded in 43 years.

Alok Paul, a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Chittagong, said there had been virtually no rainfall during the first 20 days of Ashar. The low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal has now become the main driver of the torrential rain.

While such systems are common during the monsoon, he noted that rainfall of this magnitude had not been recorded in the past 43 years, making this event exceptional.

Professor Paul also criticised the lack of coordination among the authorities in dealing with the disaster. He said the administration often fails to take adequate preparedness measures at the start of the monsoon season. Better coordination from the outset, he added, could have prevented many of the deaths.

However, Mohammad Abdur Rahman Khan, deputy director of the Weather and Geophysical Centre in Chattogram, said forecasts had already warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall.

He noted that Bangladesh naturally receives substantial rainfall during the monsoon, and whenever a low-pressure system forms over or near the coast, it often brings intense downpours. He said the current weather pattern is consistent with those conditions.

At least 22 people have died in landslides caused by heavy rains across Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar and Rangamati over the past three days. On Tuesday, five people were killed in landslides and wall collapses in the three districts. Earlier, on Sunday night, 10 people died in Cox’s Bazar—eight in Rohingya refugee camps, one in the district sadar (town), and one in Pekua. The latest fatalities include five people in Cox’s Bazar and two children in Chattogram on Wednesday.

Five girl students were killed after a wall and a mass of earth collapsed onto a women’s Hifz madrasah at Camp No. 5 in Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar. The identities of four of the victims have been confirmed.

Siraj Amin, commanding officer of the 14 Armed Police Battalion (APBn) and additional deputy inspector general, identified the four victims as Rashida Begum, 13, daughter of Hashim Ullah; Umme Nejatul, 13, and Umme Salma, 12, daughters of Abdus Shukur; and Umaisa Bibi, 13, daughter of Mohammad Ilyas. All were residents of Camp 5.

The accident occurred around 2:00 pm on Wednesday, when a retaining wall collapsed during heavy rain. About 30 children were inside the madrasah at the time. Personnel from the Fire Service, camp authorities, the APBn and Rohingya volunteers took part in the rescue operation, which concluded in the evening.

Three girls who were seriously injured were admitted to Kutupalong Friendship Hospital. They are Asra Begum, 9, daughter of Dil Mohammad of Camp 3; Begum Jan, 15, daughter of Nurul Amin of Block F-1 in Camp 3; and Faresa Bibi, 12, daughter of Bashir Ahmed of Block A-7 in Camp 5. Their condition is reported to be critical.

Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) and an additional secretary, told Prothom Alo that 30 students were rescued from the site. Five of them had died, while three critically injured students were taken to Kutupalong Friendship Hospital. He said the tragedy occurred when a retaining wall built along a hillside collapsed onto the madrasah.

Meanwhile, two children were killed in separate landslides in Chattogram. At around 9:00 am, a landslide in the Baganbari no. 6 Samaj area of Jangal Salimpur killed 10-month-old Ashraful Islam, while his mother, Lamia Akter, was injured after being buried under the debris. Later in the day, 13-year-old Samia Islam died in another landslide in the Mayor Goli area of Chashma Hill in the city.

Heavy rain continued to inundate Chattogram city on Wednesday, with widespread waterlogging persisting for a second consecutive day. Areas including Katalganj, Kapasgola, Badurtala, Panchlaish Residential Area, Reazuddin Bazar, Tin Poler Matha, Chandgaon, Shamsherpara, Kharmapara, Khwaja Road, Sunnia Madrasah, the CDA Residential Area and Commercial Area in Agrabad, North Agrabad, Rampura, Halishahar and the CDA Residential Area in Akbar Shah remained under water. Floodwater lingered in many of these neighbourhoods for eight to 10 hours.

The downpour also reduced traffic on major roads and streets across the city, with many residents staying indoors unless travel was unavoidable. Classes and examinations at educational institutions were suspended because of the adverse weather.

A visit to Rampura found knee-deep water covering roads. Water entered ground-floor homes, semi-pucca houses and shops, forcing residents to carry on daily activities, including cooking, in flooded conditions. Household furniture was also damaged by the water.

Nurjahan Begum, a resident, said, “Rainwater has flooded our home. We keep removing the water, but it comes back again. It’s impossible to describe how difficult this is.”

In Agrabad’s commercial district, several roads were submerged under knee-deep water. Water also accumulated inside a restaurant near Government Commerce College, although business continued.

Restaurant owner Mohammad Rashed said waterlogging was worse this year. He blamed inadequate cleaning of drains and canals, adding that fewer customers were venturing out because of the flooding, leaving him unable to cover even his daily operating costs.

Heavy rainfall has left about four kilometres of railway track in Chattogram submerged under nearly two feet of water for two consecutive days. Rail services between Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar have been suspended after tracks between the Sunnia Madrasah area and Shamsherpara went underwater, causing major inconvenience for passengers.

Railways Adviser Habibur Rashid visited the submerged section on Wednesday morning, travelling by a railway inspection trolley. He announced plans to raise the affected railway embankment by five feet to prevent future flooding.

In August 2023, a section of the then newly built railway line between Dohazari and Cox’s Bazar was submerged during flooding, causing track deformation after stones and soil were washed away. Authorities later constructed additional bridges and culverts to improve drainage.

Similarly, in the last week of August 2024, flooding submerged the railway line between Feni and Hasanpur, disrupting train services between Dhaka and Chattogram for four days.

Anisur Rahman, director of public relations at Bangladesh Railway, said four pairs of trains operate daily on the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar route, carrying around 8,000 to 9,000 passengers each day. He said it was not yet possible to say when services would resume.

Passengers criticised the railway authorities for failing to cancel services earlier. Sadia Afrin, whose Cox’s Bazar Express journey was cancelled after reaching Chattogram, said she had been travelling with her husband and two daughters for a holiday.

“Our train left Dhaka at night, but the journey was cancelled the next morning,” she said. “The railway line had already gone underwater on Tuesday afternoon. If the trip had been cancelled before departure, we wouldn’t have had to suffer this ordeal. Now we’re returning to Dhaka from midway. My daughters were so excited to see the sea, but that won’t happen anymore.”

Professor Alok Pal said railway lines are normally built at elevations high enough to avoid flooding. He suggested that the affected section may not have been raised sufficiently and that its surrounding low-lying terrain had allowed water to accumulate and submerge the tracks.

Persistent heavy rain has submerged several areas of Khagrachhari and Rangamati under flash floods from the hills, cutting off road communication between the two districts. The Dighinala-Longadu-Sajek road has also gone underwater.

On Wednesday morning, flash floods inundated several sections of the Khagrachhari-Dighinala-Sajek road, including Machalong and Baghaihat, leaving about 450 tourists stranded in Sajek.

In view of the worsening weather, the local administration imposed a travel ban on the Sajek tourist destination on Tuesday afternoon. The stranded tourists had been scheduled to return on Wednesday but were unable to leave because the road was submerged.

Suparna Deb Barma, president of the Sajek Cottage and Resort Owners’ Association, told Prothom Alo by phone that tourists had been asked to remain in Sajek Valley until Wednesday afternoon. If conditions improve and the road becomes passable, the army may assist in transporting them back to Khagrachhari town later in the day.

To prevent accidents during the continuing heavy rain, the Forest Department has also banned visits to all waterfalls in Mirsarai, Chattogram, until Friday.

Four days of incessant heavy rainfall and flash floods have inundated vast areas of Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Rangamati.

Thousands of families have been stranded by floodwaters in eight upazilas of Chattogram and in other affected districts, while roads and residential areas have gone underwater.

In Cox’s Bazar, at least 15,000 families have been affected by flooding in Chakaria, Pekua and Matamuhuri. Landslides, erosion and waterlogging have disrupted road communication, while train services on the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar railway route remain suspended.

In Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Sajek in Rangamati, submerged roads have halted traffic, leaving hundreds of tourists stranded. Many areas have lost electricity, while cropland and fish farms have suffered damage. The authorities have prepared emergency shelters and urged residents in vulnerable areas to move to safer locations.