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Download PDF At least 10 people died in rain-induced landslides and wall collapse while two drowned in rainwater at Cox’s Bazar early yesterday.
Torrential rain continued during the week in Teknaf triggering the landslides, sources claimed.
Landsides killed nine people, mostly children and eight of them belonging to two families, at Teknaf upazila headquarters in Cox’s Bazar early yesterday. Another child died in Ukhia upazila when a wall collapsed on her, sources in the food and disaster management ministry said.
Four siblings were killed when a large chunk of a hill slid on to their house at the valley in Dumperang of Teknaf Sadar around 3:00am.
The dead were identified as Khorsheda Begum, 14, Morshed Alam, 10, Noor Kalima, and one and a half years old Ramija Begum.
Their father Noor Alam, 40, is a rickshaw puller and was not home while their mother Rashida Begum, 35, narrowly escaped injury.
The locals thronged the spot where the parents were frequently fainting after losing their children at once.
A quarter of an hour after the landslide, another section of the same hill slid on to the house of Abu Tayab at Fakirpura killing five people including him and his three children.
The victims are Abu Tayab, his daughters Rehana Akter, 10, and Hamida Begum, 8, his son Mafiz Alam, 6, and a relative of theirs Petan Ali, 40, who was staying at the house on a visit.
However, Tayab’s wife Fatema Begum escaped death only to bear the pain of losing her whole family.
Police with the help of locals recovered the bodies.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of local police station Jasim Uddin and Teknaf Upazila (Sadar) Union Parishad Chairman Zafar Ahmed rushed to the spot and made arrangement for burial of the bodies, sources claimed.
Upazila administration started evacuating around 200 families living near the hills in Dumperang and Fakirpura as a precaution.
When contacted UNO Altaf said they were making announcement through loudspeakers asking people to leave the place within 24 hours. “However, the evacuation was being seriously hampered due to torrential rain,” he added.
Asked about rehabilitation, the UNO told The Daily Star that the upazila administration was asking people to move to safer places, “After that we would rehabilitate them on government land where they would be allowed to stay in makeshift homes until they can return to their homes after the monsoon.”
Deputy Commissioner Sajjadul Alam of Cox’s Bazar also visited the spot in the afternoon.
In Rumkha Barabeel of Ukhia upazila in Cox’s Bazar, a wall collapsed on Sarika Begum, 4, killing her on the spot.
Meanwhile, two people drowned in surging water in Cox’s Bazar upazila. One of them was identified as Abul Kashem, 35, of South Mamunpara in Khuruschool while the identity of the other victim could not be known.
GOVT MOVE
The food and disaster management ministry sent Tk 5 lakh for distribution among the victims. Families of the nine dead in landslide already got Tk 4,000 for each victim while families of each of the other victims would get Tk 1,500.
The ministry also sent Tk 1 lakh for building houses and 50 tonnes of rice for distribution among the affected people.
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