Episode: KPN 16-07-2026

Caritas leads emergency relief after landslides kill Rohingya in Bangladesh

At least 20 people have reportedly been killed after heavy monsoon rains triggered a series of landslides across Rohingya refugee camps and surrounding communities in southeastern Bangladesh, prompting Caritas Bangladesh and other humanitarian agencies to launch emergency relief operations.

Caritas Bangladesh said its local staff and community volunteers were mobilized before the worst rainfall arrived, moving door to door to share early-warning messages and help families living in high-risk areas relocate to safer locations.

Emergency Shelter and WASH Assistance Underway

Apurbo Mrong, Director of Programs at Caritas Bangladesh, said the organization’s Emergency Response Program team was coordinating closely with Camp-in-Charge offices in the Cox’s Bazar refugee settlements.

“Our Emergency Response Program team in the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar is working in close coordination with the Camp-in-Charge offices to provide emergency shelter assistance, WASH support, and dignity kits to affected households, enabling them to meet their immediate needs,” Mrong said.

WASH refers to water, sanitation and hygiene services, which become particularly critical after landslides and flooding damage shelters, contaminate water sources and increase the risk of disease.

Caritas teams are also communicating with government authorities and United Nations humanitarian partners to assess emerging needs and identify gaps in the relief response.

Support Extended to Refugees and Host Communities

Mrong said Caritas Bangladesh was working with members of the Caritas Internationalis network and other humanitarian partners to ensure assistance reached affected families in the Rohingya camps, nearby Bangladeshi host communities and other areas of the Chattogram Division.

“Together with the support of Caritas Internationalis network members and other partners, we remain committed to standing alongside flood-affected people in both the Rohingya camps, the host communities, and other areas of Chattogram Division, ensuring timely and appropriate assistance reaches those who need it most,” he said.

Years of Humanitarian Work in the Camps

Caritas Bangladesh has operated in the Rohingya camps for several years, providing shelter, water and sanitation, child protection and education services.

According to the charity, its shelter and settlement program reached an annual average of 38,335 households between 2017 and 2024 through emergency shelter support, repairs, tarpaulin distribution and monsoon preparedness assistance.

The organization also runs 12 learning centres and two youth and adolescent centres in the camps, where children receive education based on the Myanmar curriculum.

Camps Highly Vulnerable to Landslides

The Rohingya settlements in Cox’s Bazar were established across hilly and formerly forested land allocated by the Bangladesh government after successive waves of displacement from Myanmar.

Large-scale vegetation clearance and densely built shelters on slopes and foothills have increased the risk of landslides during periods of intense monsoon rainfall.

Heavy rain can weaken the soil, damage makeshift homes and trigger sudden slope collapses, placing thousands of families at risk.

Decades of Displacement

Rohingya refugees have fled persecution and violence in Myanmar in several waves since the 1970s.

More than 250,000 Rohingya sought refuge in Cox’s Bazar during the 1990s, although many were later repatriated. Further displacement occurred from 2015, followed by the mass exodus of 2017, when hundreds of thousands fled violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

By December 2023, nearly one million Rohingya were living across 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar district.

The United Nations previously described the 2017 military campaign in Myanmar as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Myanmar has rejected the allegation and is defending itself against a genocide case before the International Court of Justice.

Refugees Call for Dignified Return

Mohammad Kalam, a Rohingya father of five, said families in the camps were living in conditions unfit for long-term human habitation.

“If we had stayed in our country, it wouldn’t have been so difficult,” he said.

Kalam said that although refugees received food assistance, cramped shelters and unsafe living conditions continued to make daily life extremely difficult.

“We don’t want to stay in this situation; we want to return to our own country with dignity,” he said.

Humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that recurring landslides, floods, fires and cyclones are placing Rohingya refugees and surrounding host communities at increasing risk, underlining the need for sustained emergency funding, stronger disaster preparedness and safer living conditions.

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