Monsoon floods, landslides kill 50 in Bangladesh, force thousands to flee

Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 50 people across southeastern Bangladesh over the past week, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes, officials said on Sunday.

The worst-hit Chattogram district accounted for all 50 deaths, including 29 people who were buried in landslides, according to Divisional Commissioner Mohammed Ziauddin. Two people remain missing, while around 35,000 residents have taken shelter in government-run relief centres.

Rescue teams, including army and border guard personnel, have been using boats to deliver food, drinking water and other essential supplies to flood-hit communities cut off by rising waters.

The disaster has also disrupted funerals and daily life. One family in Chattogram was forced to transport a relative’s body on a bamboo raft after the local cemetery was submerged, eventually burying him on higher government land.

Authorities have opened nearly 4,000 shelters as shortages of food and safe drinking water worsen conditions for displaced families, many of whom remain stranded with homes and kitchens underwater.

The crisis follows deadly landslides last week in Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, where 15 people were killed. More than 1.2 million refugees live in overcrowded hillside settlements that are highly vulnerable to monsoon-related disasters.

Bangladesh, one of the world’s most flood-prone countries, faces severe seasonal flooding every year, with scientists warning that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

Flood Forecasting and Warning Center officials said conditions in the southeast are expected to improve, but warned that active monsoon conditions could trigger fresh flooding in the country’s northern and northeastern regions.