Cox's Bazar landslides death toll rises to 11 as another dies
A fresh landslide in Cox's Bazar Sadar kills a woman despite repeated evacuation warnings, while authorities consider legal action to remove residents from high-risk hillside settlements.
Highlights:
- Woman killed in fresh Cox's Bazar landslide
- Landslide-related death toll rises to 11 in two days
- Husband injured, admitted to hospital
- Authorities warn of legal action against risky hillside occupation
A woman was killed and her husband injured after a hillside collapsed onto her home in Cox's Bazar today (7 July), raising the district's landslide-related death toll to 11 over the past two days, including eight Rohingya refugees.
The victim, Nasima Akter Lima, 27, died after being buried under earth and a large tree when the landslide occur around 1:45pm in Borochhara Para of Dariyanagar under Cox's Bazar sadar.
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Her husband, Jasim Uddin, was rescued and admitted to Cox's Bazar District Sadar Hospital, local Union Parishad member Mohammad Yunus told The Business Standard.
Quoting neighbours, Yunus said the couple had been resting inside their home after lunch when the landslide struck.
Following the incident, Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md A Mannan, along with officials from the administration and Fire Service, visited the site.
The DC said authorities had conducted loudspeaker announcements and awareness campaigns yesterday urging residents living near vulnerable hillsides to evacuate. "The victim's family had also been warned several times but did not leave."
"We may now have to use legal measures or enforcement to remove people from high-risk areas," he added.
Senior Fire Service official Dolon Acharya said officials had personally requested the victim's family to relocate yesterday afternoon, but they remained despite assuring authorities they would move. "Fire Service teams continued warning residents across vulnerable areas today."
According to the Cox's Bazar Meteorological Office's Assistant Meteorologist Md Abdul Hannan, heavy rainfall has continued across Cox's Bazar, with the BMD recording 129mm of rainfall yesterday and another 47mm between 6am and 3pm today.
"The heaviest rainfall was recorded in Chattogram, with significant rainfall also affecting Cox's Bazar, Kutubdia and Chakaria, while other coastal districts continued to experience persistent rain," he added.
Meanwhile, the meteorological office has advised Cox's Bazar maritime port to keep local cautionary signal No 3 hoisted, while fishing boats and trawlers have been asked to remain close to the coast.
Persistent rain has also caused waterlogging in parts of Cox's Bazar town and increased the risk of further landslides in the Rohingya refugee camps, where thousands of shelters are built on unstable earthen slopes.
Yesterday, eight Rohingya refugees were killed in landslides at camps in Ukhiya, while two others died in separate landslides in Cox's Bazar town and Pekua. Two children, including one Rohingya child, also drowned in floodwaters triggered by the heavy rainfall.
