Landslides kill 5 more

Monsoon torrential rain triggered fresh landslides in Cox's Bazar killing at least five people yesterday.

Heavy rainfall in the peak of monsoon has caused water-logging in the coastal and hill districts for the last few days disrupting usual business and people's everyday life. 

However, according to the weather office, the situation may improve from today, as the low weakened further and moved towards westwards in India.

"Low formed in the Bay intensifying rain. However, the weather will improve from tomorrow. But still there will be some rains as the monsoon is active now," said a duty forecasting officer of Dhaka Met office.

Locals look for survivors after a landslide hit a building in Lighthouse Para of Cox's Bazar early yesterday. Two people were killed and two others injured in the incident. Photo: Anvil Chakma, Mohammad Ali Jinnat

As torrential rain coupled with tidal water reached the peak of the year yesterday, people of Chittagong city's low-lying areas had to suffer due to waterlogging for the third consecutive day.

Life was disrupted in the capital as well. Several other coastal districts were inundated including Khulna, Barisal, Patuakhali, Bagerhat and Cox's Bazar. Road communication between hill districts remained snapped, as landslides damaged the road.

Meanwhile, the body of a Bandarban landslide victim was found on Monday evening in the Shankha river at Banshkhali upazila of Chittagong. Rescue operation could not be conducted the day before after the landslide in Bandarban due to bad weather, fire brigade sources said. 

In Cox's Bazar, two children, identified as Saima, 3, and her brother Zihan, 4, were buried alive when a big chunk of earth fell on their house around 3:00am yesterday, said Abdul Malek, deputy assistant director of district Fire Service and Civil Defence. The parents sustained injuries.

Another rain-influenced landslide killed Shahed, 18, and Saddam Hossain, 28, and injured two others in Lighthouse area of Sadar town near the sea beach, the fire service official added.

Motaherul Islam, Saddam's brother, said four of the family were sleeping when a portion of hill crashed down on their one-storey building. A wall collapsed killing the two on the spot. 

In Pekua upazila of Cox's Bazar, an elderly woman identified as Anwara Begum, 60, was killed when a wall of her house collapsed following rain on Monday evening.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Pekua, Mahbubul Karim, said the victim's family was given financial aid.

The district administration distributed Tk 20,000 to each of the four victims' families and Tk 10,000 to each of the injured, said Md Abdur Rauf, district relief and rehabilitation officer.

The municipality building and Municipality Preparatory School are now open to provide people living in risky areas with shelter, with sufficient food arrangement, added Rauf, also a senior assistant commissioner.

Three teams led by executive magistrates were engaged in evacuating dwellers from risky hill sites, said Md Saiful Islam Mazumdar, deputy commissioner (in-charge)  of Cox's Bazar.  

Fire service and Roads and Highways Department workers clear mud and debris from the Lama-Chakaria Road in Mirinja area of Bandarban's Lama upazila yesterday, hours after a landslide hit the area. Photo: Sanjoy Kumar Barua

Cox's Bazar local office of Bangladesh Meteorological Department said it had recorded 208 millimetre rain in the last 24 hours across the district.   

In another development, the body of Munni Barua, who went missing after Sunday's landslide triggered by torrential rain in Bandarban, was recovered from the Shankha river, locally known as Sangu.

Relatives identified the body yesterday after seeing an image of the body on Facebook posted by police, said Officer-in-Charge Alamgir Hossain of Banshkhali Police Station.

The body was floating near the bank of the river at Banigram village of Sadhanpur under the police station on Monday evening.

Informed by local people, police recovered the body. Later it was sent to Chittagong Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy, the OC said.

Mentionable, on Sunday morning one named Sing Moya La died and four others went missing at Dalian Para on Bandarban-Ruma road after a landslide.

The other three missing people are Ruma upazila Postmaster Jainul Alam, Ruma Krishi Bank officer Goutom Nandi and Ching Mya Sing Marma of Mong Shwe Prue Para of Ruma.

Till yesterday, the search operation for the missing ones was disrupted due to incessant rain, said Swapon Kumar Gosh, fire station master (in-charge) of Bandarban.

In fresh landslides, two houses were damaged early yesterday in Lama of Bandarban. No casualties were reported.

Road communication between Lama and Chokoria was snapped due to a landslide at Mirinija under Lama upazila.

(Our correspondents in Cox's Bazar, Chittagong and Bandarban contributed to the story)