Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps end up being significantly susceptible to landslides

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  • In the middle of repeating landslides, a growing variety of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are being required to adjust to significantly minimal camp area.
  • The refugee management authorities caution that growths of Rohingya camps will speed up additional damage of forests and biodiversity.
  • A research study suggests security of the susceptible hill slopes, however authorities mention fund lacks as a significant challenge.

According to a report by the Bangladeshi federal government, launched on Sept. 16, more than 150,000 Rohingya individuals getting away persecution in Myanmar have actually gone into the nation’s 33 Rohingya camps in Teknaf and Ukhiya locations of Cox’s Bazar in the last couple of months.

The camps, spread out throughout approximately 24 square kilometers (9.2 square miles), formally host 1,170,978 occupants– more than (more than 124,300 individuals per square mile)– making the largely jam-packed settlements progressively busy and susceptible to collapse as brand-new arrivals continue to get in the minimal area, according to the report by the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC).

A number of research studies reveal that the camps, developed on sandy hill slopes after big locations of reserved forest were cleared, are likewise extremely susceptible to natural catastrophes.

Every year, heavy monsoon rainstorms set off landslides in Rohingya camps. This year, in between July 4 and 19, more than 200 landslides took place in the Rohingya campseliminating a minimum of 15 individuals, consisting of 5 teen ladies.

moto gp Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar

Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar. In the middle of repeating landslides, growing varieties of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are being required to adjust to progressively restricted camp area. Image by Md shameem ul islam through Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0.

Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, the refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, informed Mongabay on Sept. 8,” The refugee neighborhood needs camp growth with ongoing increase from Myanmar. Any growth suggests damage of brand-new forests and hills, and Bangladesh can not manage it any longer.”

The Rohingya increase in 2017 at first triggered an overall damage of 1,502 hectares(3,713 acres)of forest landsin Cox’s Bazar to accommodate the makeshift refugee settlements.

2 years later on, the nation’s Forest Department reported that the Rohingya settlements badly harmed biodiversity and diminished more than 3,230 hectares(8,000 acresof reserved forest in Cox’s Bazar.[19659012]A 2020 research study that examined landscape modifications in Ukhiya kept in mind that slope cutting and roadway and stair building in the raised part of Kutupalong, the biggest refugee camp network on the planet, were increasing the threat of landslides and flooding throughout a number of camps.

Mapping susceptible slope systems in the Kutupalong camps, a 2025 research study discovered that 109 of the 1,726 studied slope systems had moderate-to-high landslide vulnerability before the Rohingya increase. The number increased to 291 by 2021.

The research study kept in mind that the increase recommends that landscape modifications made to accommodate the big increase of Rohingyas have actually increased landslide vulnerability.

Co-author of the research study Shamima Ferdousi Sifa, an assistant teacher at the University of Dhaka’s department of catastrophe science and environment durability, stated landslide danger elements, consisting of rains patterns, are altering as the increase of Rohingya refugees continues.

“As long as real estate settlements continue to broaden onto unsteady slopes, Rohingya refugees will stay at danger of landslides,”Sifa stated.

Refugees stroll on a raised walkway in Chakmakul camp, Teknaf. The walkway was constructed as part of monsoon readiness efforts, as the rice field listed below gets flooded in the monsoon. Image © European Union 2018 through Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
The makeshift home of a Rohingya household at Camp 8 in Ukhiya collapsed due to landslide this monsoon. Image by Sadiqur Rahman for Mongabay .

Moto gp New refugees pressure delicate camps

Cox’s Bazar is primarily a floodplain, with a mean slope of about 4 ° and a typical elevation of 17 meters( 56 feet )above international mean sea level.

moto gp The makeshift house of a Rohingya family at Camp 8 in Ukhiya collapsed due to landslide this monsoon.

Its varied geomorphological landscape consists of flat floodplains, mudflats, dunes, tidal creeks, hillocks and sandy beaches.

The landscape is likewise identified by substantial forest locations, consisting of safeguarded forests designated as wildlife sanctuaries.

A 2022 research studywhich examined rainfall-induced landslide danger in Cox’s Bazar’s Kutupalong camps, discovered that the majority of slope failures took place in recurring soils and weathered silty sandstone.

The research study revealed that the camps ‘landmass– underlain generally by Tipam sandstone, Girujan clay and Dupi Tila developments of fluvial sandstone, clay and beach deposits– deals with repeating landslides due to high slopes brought on by unexpected settlements with delicate bamboo and plastic shelters, heavy rains, and insufficient disaster-risk decrease procedures.

More than 3,100 landslide occurrences were tape-recorded throughout the Rohingya camps, impacting more than 73,000 individuals, in between 2018 and 2025This year, more than 200 landslides struck the Rohingya campsdisplacing more than 13,000.

Remaining hill slopes are further cut to expand existing houses to shelter newcomers at camps.

Staying hill slopes are additional cut to broaden existing homes to shelter newbies at camps. Image by Sadiqur Rahman for Mongabay.

Rintu Bikash Chakma, in charge of Camp 8 West in Kutupalong, stated that the staying hill slopes are additional cut to broaden existing homes to shelter camp homeowners’family members when they show up from Myanmar.

“This leaves your homes above and listed below the cut slopes susceptible to landslides. “

Other camp authorities stated that they raise warnings at dangerous slopes every monsoon to prevent casualties, however some occupants stay hesitant to transfer.

When a Mongabay press reporter went to Camp 4 in Kutupalong previously this month, numerous slope systems marked with warnings were discovered to be still inhabited by occupants.

One such local, Morium Begum, 55, stated she would rather run the risk of passing away in a landslide than relocation from the location where she and her 5 relative have actually lived given that 2017.

“The authorities might make the slope landslide-resistant or send us back to Myanmar,”she stated.

At Camp 4 in Kutupalong, Ukhiya, numerous slope systems marked with warnings were discovered to be still inhabited by residents. Image by Sadiqur Rahman for Mongabay.

Moto gp Slope stabilization requires financing

The 2025 research study advised instant stabilization of 287 slopes out of the 1,726 mapped slope systems. It categorized another 428 slope systems as short-term concerns, while 505 are long-lasting top priorities.

Refugee relief and repatriation commissioner Mizanur stated, “Fund lacks significantly affect catastrophe threat management in the camps.”

The gain access to, security and catastrophe threat management program– collaborated by the Rohingya Refugee Response cumulative through federal government cooperation with worldwide companies– for the Rohingya camps was just 40%moneyed up until Julymoto gp At Camp 4 in Kutupalong, Ukhiya, several slope units marked with red flags were found to be still occupied by dwellers. 2026, leaving a$23.2–million deficiency versus its$ 38.8-million requirement, according to a main file.

The larger Shelter and Camp Coordination Camp Management( SCCCM ), likewise under the Rohingya Refugee Response, was 42 %moneyed, with a more$ 73.9 million required for emergency situation slope stabilization, drain, watershed management and other disaster-risk procedures.

Banner image: Households are moved due to flooding and landslides in the Balukhali Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar. Image by UN Women/Allison Joyce through Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Climate-resilient real estate designs sluggish to make headway in disaster-prone Bangladesh

Cameroon’s Nigerian refugees who deteriorated their camp are now leads of reforestation[19659043]Citations:[19659044]Quader, M. A., Dey, H., Malak, M. A., & Sajib, A. M.(2020). Rohingya refugee flooding and modifications of the physical and social landscape in Ukhiya, Bangladesh. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 234634-4658. doi:10.1007/ s10668-020-00792-0

Haque, D. M. E., Roy, R., Tasnim, S., Sifa, S. F., Karunatillake, S., Kamal, A. S. M. M., & Lorenzo, J. M. (2025 ). Translating vibrant landslide threat procedures for an enormous refugee camp in Bangladesh. Ecological Challenges, 19101172. doi:10.1016/ j.envc.2025.101172

Kamal, A. S. M. M., Ahmed, B., Tasnim, S., & Sammonds, P.(2022). Evaluating rainfall-induced landslide threat in a humanitarian context: The Kutupalong Rohingya Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Natural Hazards Research, 2(3), 230-248. doi:10.1016/ j.nhres.2022.08.006

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Sadiqur Rahman(2026). Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps end up being progressively susceptible to landslides. Mongabay Conservation news. DOI: https://doi.org/10.66709/news-330815

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