Record rainfall paralyses Cox’s Bazar

A record rainfall in Cox's Bazar has paralysed the district, confining thousands of tourists to their hotel rooms and residents inundated.

Most of the roads of the town have gone under water while thousands of people of the low-lying areas were marooned.

AB Hannan, assistant meteorologist of Cox's Bazar Meteorological Office, said 501mm of rain was recorded in Cox's Bazar in the last 24 hours from 3:00pm yesterday to 3:00pm today.

This is the highest rainfall recorded in a single day in the ongoing season, he added.

"Heavy rains may continue. Wind intensity will also be high, which may increase to a maximum speed of 60kmh," he said.

Azim Nihad, a journalist based out of Cox's Bazar, said he did not witnesses such rain in the district ever before.

More than 500 hotels, guesthouses, cottages, and resorts in the hotel-motel zone have been flooded since Wednesday night.

Kolatali Road, Sugandha Road, Seagal Road were waterlogged hundreds of shops of Zhinuk Market have gone underwater.

Many tourists were seen roaming on the road in the knee- to waist-deep water. However most of the them were passing idle time in their rooms.

Shamim Ahmed, of Dhaka's Tejgaon area, said he was visiting Cox's Bazar with his family and had plans to travel many areas such as Teknaf and Ramu. However, their plans have been spoiled due to the incessant rain, he said.

Abul Kashem Sikdar, president of Cox's Bazar Hotel Guest House Owners Association, said that he had not seen such flooding in the town in the last 50 years.

Selim Newaz, secretary of Cox's Bazar Hotel, Motel, Guest House, and Owners' Association, said some 25,000 tourists are now in Cox's Bazar.

Most of the areas of Cox's Bazar town have been submerged due to heavy rain.

People were suffering since the traffic movement in many roads was disrupted due to the flooding.

The busiest 5-km main road and beach road were submerged in water. Hundreds of shops, offices and businesses in Bazarghata, Borobazar, Anderson Road, Tekpara, Burmese Market area, Buddha Mandir Road, Goldighirpar, Tarabniachara, Rumaliachara were inundated. Thousands of houses were also submerged in the water.

Akhtar Kamal, councillor of Ward 1, said that if the heavy rains continue, at least 10,000 houses in this ward will be submerged.

Thousands of climate refugees from Moheshkahli and Kutubdia, who live at Ward 1, were the worst suffers since they have no place to cook in the area.