Rain wrecks havoc on Rohingyas

Two dead: IOM

Five days of heavy rains and winds have pounded Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, leaving two people dead, displacing over 2,700 and damaging 3,400 makeshift houses, said International Organisaiton for Migration (IOM) yesterday.

The destruction – triggered by the northerly wet monsoon from the Bay of Bengal – prompted IOM staff and volunteers working throughout the camps to repair damaged structures and relocate the hardest-hit families to emergency shelters.

“We are only halfway through the monsoon season and have helped over 2,000 people in the past 72 hours. Our teams have been working round the clock,” said IOM spokesman George McLeod. Preliminary damage estimates already exceed

those recorded in 2018, he added. Records of rain between 3rd to 5th July in the Kutupalong mega camp showed 510 millimetere while in Camp 16 – another major settlement – recorded 530 millimetres.

IOM and partners, including United Nations High Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) and World Food Programme (WFP) have been preparing for the monsoon and cyclone season since late 2018 through infrastructure upgrades and awareness-raising campaigns in both the camps and host communities.

IOM preliminary damage data covering the period 2-6 July includes: 1,186 households affected by landslides, 216 households impacted by flooding, 1,840 households affected by wind, 15,534 people affected by flooding or other safety risks, 391 by landslides, 51 by windstorms, and 26 by floods reported. IOM damage reports for the previous 24-hour period indicated 13 more landslides, nine windstorms and two floods affecting 2,200 individuals and 432 households. As per Met Office forecast, the rains and wind are predicted to continue through this week.

While the report of Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) report said since June 27 to July 04 a total of 10,600 refugees were affected due to the monsoon-related events. One seven-year-old boy drowned following heavy rain.  The report also said 2,457 Rohingyas were displaced due to the monsoon rain, which precipitates in between May and October. They also said during this week Site Management Sector partners reported over 1,900 shelters as partly or fully damaged. From these shelters, 858 were verified as damaged.

Rain wrecks havoc on Rohingyas

Two dead: IOM

Five days of heavy rains and winds have pounded Rohingya refugee camps in Coxs Bazar, leaving two people dead, displacing over 2,700 and damaging 3,400 makeshift houses, said International Organisaiton for Migration (IOM) yesterday. The destruction triggered by the northerly wet monsoon from the Bay of Bengal prompted IOM staff and volunteers working throughout the camps to repair damaged structures and relocate the hardest-hit families to emergency shelters. We are only halfway through the monsoon season and have helped over 2,000 people in the past 72 hours. Our teams have been working round the clock, said IOM spokesman George McLeod. Preliminary damage estimates already exceed those recorded in 2018, he added. Records of rain between 3rd to 5th July in the Kutupalong mega camp showed 510 millimetere while in Camp 16 another major settlement recorded 530 millimetres. IOM and partners, including United Nations High Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) and World Food Programme (WFP) have been preparing for the monsoon and cyclone season since late 2018 through infrastructure upgrades and awareness-raising campaigns in both the camps and host communities. IOM preliminary damage data covering the period 2-6 July includes: 1,186 households affected by landslides, 216 households impacted by flooding, 1,840 households affected by wind, 15,534 people affected by flooding or other safety risks, 391 by landslides, 51 by windstorms, and 26 by floods reported. IOM damage reports for the previous 24-hour period indicated 13 more landslides, nine windstorms and two floods affecting 2,200 individuals and 432 households. As per Met Office forecast, the rains and wind are predicted to continue through this week. While the report of Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) report said since June 27 to July 04 a total of 10,600 refugees were affected due to the monsoon-related events. One seven-year-old boy drowned following heavy rain. The report also said 2,457 Rohingyas were displaced due to the monsoon rain, which precipitates in between May and October. They also said during this week Site Management Sector partners reported over 1,900 shelters as partly or fully damaged. From these shelters, 858 were verified as damaged.