Pre-Dawn Landslides Kill At Least 134 People in Southeast Bangladesh

Landslides following heavy monsoon rains in southeastern Bangladesh have killed at least 134 people, weeks after a cyclone ripped across the country’s coastline.

Agence France-Presse reports that the remote Rangamati region was hardest hit by the pre-dawn landslides, with at least 98 deaths. Many of the victims in the hilly district lived in poor tribal communities, and were buried in their homes while sleeping.

Rangamati district administrator Manzurul Mannan told the news agency that “the death toll might rise.”

Bangladeshi officials said at least 30 others were killed in Chittagong, while six died in nearby Bandarban district, reports AFP. Emergency workers are still trying to reach some affected areas where phone and transport links have been disrupted.

The latest monsoon rains came just two weeks after Cyclone Mora swept Bangladesh’s coast and caused extensive damage to displacement camps sheltering hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled persecution in neighboring Myanmar.

Read More: Thousands Displaced as Powerful Cyclone Hits Bangladesh, Prompting Fears for Rohingya Refugees

Mohammad Anam, a Rohingya community leader, told AFP that the latest downpours only worsened conditions following the destructive cyclone. “We’re living in constant fear of landslides,” he said.

[AFP]