Nine more killed in landslides, drowning; millions at risk

The overall nationwide flood situation has taken a devastating turn as relentless monsoon downpours and an onrush of hilly waters have left over eight lakh people marooned across several districts, claiming at least nine more lives in the last 24 hours. 

The latest casualties, caused by separate landslides and drowning incidents across the southeastern hill tracts and coastal belts, bring the death toll from three days of nonstop rain-induced disasters to 32, with multiple individuals still reported missing.

With several major rivers flowing well above their respective danger levels, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) has warned that the crisis is poised to deepen. 

In its special flood bulletin issued on Thursday evening, the FFWC stated that six rivers across 10 monitoring stations in six districts were flowing above their respective danger levels, threatening to trigger fresh deluges and flash floods in low-lying areas. 

The FFWC has officially identified nine districts as flood risk-prone areas over the next 24 to 72 hours.

The escalating emergency has drawn urgent attention in the National Parliament, where the government disclosed that floods and cyclones have inflicted catastrophic financial losses amounting to Tk41,200 crore over a recent four-year period, underlining the country’s profound vulnerability to climate-driven disasters.

Landslides and rising waters claim more lives

The human toll of the current spell of severe weather has mounted rapidly. 

In Bandarban’s Lama upazila, a series of devastating landslides tore through the hill settlements of Aziz Nagar in the early hours of Thursday. 

The first hill collapse struck at around 2am, burying a house and instantly killing a young couple, identified as Md Jewel, 34, and his wife Kulsuma Akter, 25. 

Two hours later, a second landslide struck the same vicinity, burying another family of three. The victims were identified as Md Yunus, 40, his wife Ranu Akter, 35, and their five-year-old son, Md Soleman.

Confirming the recovery of the bodies from the thick debris, Kaisar Hamid, the officer-in-charge of Lama police station, stated that local residents, police, and Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel had launched an immediate joint rescue operation under highly challenging conditions.

In neighboring Cox's Bazar district, a similar tragedy unfolded at Pekua upazila around 2am on Thursday. 

A massive chunk of a hill collapsed onto a residence in the Deboltoli area under Boroitoli union, claiming the lives of two children. 

The deceased were identified as 13-year-old Rumi Akter and her 10-year-old cousin, Wahidul Islam.

Meanwhile, the raging floodwaters and overflowing drainage networks have added to the casualties. 

In the Raozan upazila of Chattogram, a three-year-old toddler, Mohammad Mostakim, drowned on Wednesday evening after falling into a roadside drain swollen by heavy torrents. 

Local sources said the child was walking to a nearby shop with his grandfather when he was suddenly swept away by the intense current. 

Though rescued shortly downstream and rushed to a local hospital, attending doctors declared him dead on arrival.

In Boalkhali upazila’s Jaisthapura area, a 25-year-old youth named Didar Alam Hridoy was swept away by floodwaters on Thursday morning and remains missing. 

Further inland in Rangamati, rescuers recovered the body of 30-year-old Dolmoni Chakma, a resident of Magban union who had been missing since being washed away by a hilly onrush on 7 July. 

Another unidentified floating vendor in the Rangamati Sadar upazila has also been reported missing in the floodwaters.

Paralysed infrastructure and marooned millions

The physical impact of the deluge has effectively crippled large parts of the Chattogram division. The meteorological office in Patenga recorded a staggering 226mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 3pm on Thursday. 

The extraordinary scale of the downpour is underscored by FFWC data showing that during the last three days alone, Chattogram received 815mm of rainfall, Cox’s Bazar 330mm, and Lama in Bandarban a staggering 518mm.

Massive swathes of Chattogram city, including urban pockets like Chandgaon, Chawk Bazar, and Halishahar, remained submerged for a third consecutive day, leaving residents facing acute distress. 

Commercial operations at Chaktai-Khatunganj, the country's premier wholesale commodity market, were severely disrupted by waterlogging, while the loading and unloading of bulk cargo at the outer anchorage of the Chattogram Port ground to a temporary halt.

Across the wider region, the scale of displacement is staggering. In Chattogram district alone, approximately 4.34 lakh people across 10 upazilas have been completely marooned. 

Md Sharif Uddin, additional deputy commissioner (general) for Chattogram, described the situation in Satkania, Lohagara, and Banshkhali as particularly alarming. 

In Satkania, unions adjacent to the River Sangu, such as Dharampur, Bazalia, Charati, Amilaish, and Nalua, are entirely underwater. 

Strong currents have submerged the Keranihat-Bandarban road, completely severing direct vehicular communication between Bandarban and Chattogram.

Traffic on the main Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highway has similarly been disrupted due to flooding at the Hasmat-er Dokan point. 

Crucially, rail communication with Cox's Bazar has remained suspended since Tuesday after floodwaters inundated the tracks at several vulnerable locations.

In Banshkhali upazila, the sheer force of the high tides and torrential rains caused a section of a coastal embankment, constructed at an estimated cost of Tk300 crore, to collapse, allowing saline water to push further inland. 

Widespread flooding was also reported in Cox’s Bazar’s Chakaria and the newly formed Matamuhuri upazila, where 18 unions and a municipality were submerged, leaving over two lakh people isolated.

In the hill districts of Bandarban and Khagrachhari, an estimated 150,000 people are marooned. While Rangamati avoided extensive waterlogging, it bore the brunt of structural damage, recording 126 separate landslide incidents over four days. 

Inter-district road transport between Chattogram, Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari has been suspended due to the dual threats of debris and submerged roads. 

Furthermore, roughly 500 tourists remain stranded in the remote Sajek Valley under Baghaichhari upazila. 

Khagrachhari Deputy Commissioner Md Anwar Sadat stated that local authorities are closely monitoring the situation and providing necessary humanitarian support to those stranded.

To deal with the immediate humanitarian fallout, local administrations are scrambling to distribute aid. 

In Chattogram, 8,340 individuals have moved into emergency shelters, with the district administration allocating 100 tonnes of rice, Tk30 lakh in cash, and thousands of packets of dry and cooked food. 

In Rangamati, Additional Deputy Commissioner Md Ruhul Amin confirmed that 4,264 people have taken refuge across 34 shelters, where they are being provided three meals a day.

Severe agricultural and economic casualties

The economic toll on rural livelihoods is mounting by the hour. 

According to the Directorate of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Chattogram, a total of 13,634 hectares of croplands – encompassing Aush paddy, Aman seedbeds, summer vegetables, and betel leaf plantations – have been damaged or entirely submerged across five districts between 6 July and 8 July.

Simultaneously, the structural impact on the fisheries sector has been severe. 

The Chattogram District Fisheries Office reported that floodwaters have washed away fish and shrimp from 7,369 enclosures across 140 unions. 
Initial financial assessments place the primary loss to the fisheries sector alone at approximately Tk39.11 crore.

Grim meteorological forecasts

According to the FFWC, the ongoing crisis is being driven by a low-pressure system situated over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal areas of Odisha and West Bengal, which has triggered heavy rainfall across the Chattogram, Sylhet, Mymensingh, and Rangpur divisions as well as upstream Indian states.

Gauging stations registered extreme water levels on Thursday evening. In the southeastern region, the River Sangu at Bandarban and Dohazari in Chattogram was flowing 105cm and 16cm above the danger level respectively. 

The River Matamuhuri at Lama in Bandarban and Chiringa in Cox’s Bazar was flowing a massive 164cm and 77cm above the danger mark. Consequently, the FFWC warned that the flood situation in Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban due to the Sangu and Matamuhuri river basins may continue to persist for the next 24 to 48 hours. 

Feni also remains heavily at risk due to the swelling Feni, Muhuri, and Selonia rivers.

In the northeastern region, the River Khowai at Balla and Habiganj was flowing 192cm and 140cm above the danger level, while the River Manu at Manu Railway Bridge and Moulvibazar was flowing 73cm and 69cm above the danger mark. 

The River Dhalai at Kamalganj in Habiganj was 5cm above the danger line, while the River Kushiyara at Markuli in Sunamganj was flowing 15cm above the danger level. 

The FFWC predicted that the flood situation in Habiganj and Moulvibazar caused by the Khowai, Manu, and Dhalai rivers may remain stable over the next 24 hours, though overall river water levels in Sylhet and Sunamganj may rise further, causing short-duration flooding in low-lying areas.

The joint projections from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department and the FFWC indicate that heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over the next 48 hours across the Sylhet, Chattogram, Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Rajshahi divisions. Critically, heavy precipitation is also expected in the upper catchment areas within the adjoining Indian states of Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya, and West Bengal.

The FFWC specifically predicted that the southeastern region may receive up to 300-350mm of rainfall in the next three days, while Chattogram, Feni, Lakshmipur, and Noakhali may receive up to 250-300mm. 

The northeastern districts including Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona, and Sherpur, alongside northern districts including Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, and Kurigram, are expected to receive 100-150mm of rainfall during the same period.

In northern Bangladesh, the Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers continue to swell and are expected to rise to their warning levels in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram districts within the next 72 hours. 

Although the River Teesta has shown temporary stability, the FFWC warned it may cross its danger level within the next 24 to 48 hours, creating temporary flooding risks in low-lying areas of Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, and Rangpur.

Parliament addressed on national toll and state strategy

As the crisis unfolds on the ground, the long-term state strategy for disaster management was a key focus in Parliament on Thursday. 

Responding to a scripted question from ruling party lawmaker Md Mostafizur Rahman Babul (Jamalpur-3), the Disaster Management and Relief Minister, Asadul Habib Dulu, informed the House that the government has systematically overhauled its approach to natural calamities.

“The present government has transformed disaster management from a relief-dependent approach to an integrated risk reduction-based management system,” Minister Dulu stated, emphasising that advances in early warning systems and localized emergency responses have significantly reduced overall casualties and property damage while fostering community resilience.

The minister detailed the state's structural preparedness, explaining that under the ongoing Disaster Risk Management Enhancement Project, essential emergency equipment, including telecommunication gear, sirens, megaphones, stretchers, and first-aid kits, has already been deployed to 35 upazilas across 12 coastal districts. 

To fortify rescue operations during flash floods, the ministry is deploying one specialized rescue speedboat to each of the 12 coastal districts, alongside 43 shallow-water rescue boats earmarked for five highly flood-prone districts.

Providing a sobering look at historical data stored by the Department of Disaster Management, the Minister responded to a question from reserved-seat MP Subikunnahar by disclosing that Bangladesh incurred direct financial losses amounting to Tk41,200 crore due to floods and cyclones between 2021 and 2025. Out of this total, floods alone accounted for the lion's share of damage, totaling Tk29,277 crore.