Cox’s Bazar landslides kill nine as Rohingya camps confront deadly monsoon risk

At least nine people, including eight Rohingya refugees, were killed when heavy monsoon rain triggered multiple landslides across refugee camps and surrounding communities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, during the early hours of July 6, 2026.

Five children were among the dead. The landslides struck Camps 7, 11 and 15 in Ukhiya while residents were sleeping, burying bamboo and tarpaulin shelters beneath mud and debris. A Bangladeshi man was killed separately when part of a hillside collapsed onto a house in Cox’s Bazar municipality.

Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel, Armed Police Battalion members, camp authorities, local residents and Rohingya volunteers conducted rescue operations throughout the night. Several people were injured, while officials continued moving residents from unstable slopes as further rainfall threatened additional landslides and flash floods.

The disaster has again exposed the structural vulnerability of the world’s largest refugee settlement, where close to 1.2 million Rohingya live in densely populated camps built across steep and heavily modified terrain. The immediate emergency is being compounded by declining humanitarian funding, renewed fighting in Myanmar and limited prospects for safe refugee returns.

What happened in Rohingya Camps 7, 11 and 15 during the July 6 landslides?

The first deadly landslide was reported shortly after 1 a.m. in Jamtoli Camp 15 in Palongkhali union. A large section of a hillside collapsed onto the shelter of 44-year-old Mohammad Kamal Hossain, killing Mohammad Kamal Hossain, his 39-year-old wife Humaira Begum and their four-year-old son Mohammad Anas.

Another landslide struck Block D/7 of Kutupalong Camp 7 at approximately 1:45 a.m. Seven-year-old Ekram was buried by mud carried down the slope by a hill torrent. Rohingya volunteers recovered the child after residents raised the alarm.

The deadliest single incident occurred at Balukhali Camp 11 at approximately 3 a.m. A hillside collapsed onto shelters and killed four members of one family. The victims were identified as 27-year-old Umme Habiba, 13-year-old Tanzina Akter, five-year-old Mohammad Rihan and three-year-old Harunur Rashid.

The incidents occurred within a period of only a few hours, placing simultaneous pressure on emergency teams working across several camps. Rescuers had to operate during continuing rain, darkness and unstable ground, conditions that increased the danger of additional slope failures.

A separate landslide struck the Sattar Ghona area of Cox’s Bazar municipality at approximately 4:30 a.m. The collapse buried three members of a Bangladeshi family inside their home. Neighbours rescued the occupants and transported them to hospital, but 50-year-old Ali Akbar died from his injuries.

The nine deaths demonstrate that landslide danger extends beyond the formally administered refugee camps. Communities living around Cox’s Bazar also occupy areas exposed to unstable hills, intense rainfall and rapid surface runoff.

Why did more than 250 millimetres of rain make the Cox’s Bazar hillsides so dangerous?

The Cox’s Bazar weather office recorded more than 250 millimetres of rainfall during the 24 hours ending at 6 a.m. on July 6. The rain was linked to a well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal combined with an active monsoon system.

Such rainfall can rapidly saturate soil, particularly on slopes where vegetation has been removed and natural drainage patterns have been disrupted. Water adds weight to the soil while reducing the friction that holds layers of earth together, increasing the likelihood that sections of a hillside will collapse.

The refugee settlements are particularly exposed because many shelters stand on steep slopes or immediately below cut hillsides. Large numbers of trees and plants were removed when the camps expanded rapidly following the 2017 refugee influx, reducing the root systems that previously helped stabilise the soil.

Paths, drainage channels and shelter foundations can also redirect rainwater into vulnerable areas. When drains become blocked by mud, plastic or household waste, water can accumulate behind slopes or flow through densely occupied residential sections.

The shelters themselves offer little protection from a major landslide. Most are constructed from bamboo, plastic sheeting and lightweight materials because refugees face restrictions on permanent construction. These structures can provide basic protection from ordinary rain but cannot withstand tonnes of moving earth and debris.

Weather officials warned that heavy rainfall could continue for another two days. That forecast meant the threat did not end when the initial rescue operations were completed. Already saturated hillsides could fail after further rain, even in places where no visible movement had occurred during the first night.

Why are Rohingya families still living on unstable slopes nearly nine years after fleeing Myanmar?

The principal reason is the scale and speed of the original displacement. Approximately 750,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar’s military launched a crackdown in Rakhine State in August 2017. Bangladesh and humanitarian agencies had to accommodate an enormous population within a limited area over a very short period.

Cox’s Bazar now contains 33 highly congested Rohingya camps. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees data showed 1,163,619 refugees living in the Cox’s Bazar settlements as of May 31, 2026, while the total Rohingya refugee population registered in Bangladesh stood at 1,197,411.

The physical geography provides few easy solutions. Flat and safely developable land is limited, while relocating large populations requires roads, drainage, water systems, medical facilities, distribution centres and protection services. Moving a shelter alone does not create a functioning community.

Bangladesh has relocated approximately 35,000 Rohingya to Bhasan Char, an island in Noakhali district, as part of an effort to reduce pressure on Cox’s Bazar. The programme has remained controversial because of concerns involving freedom of movement, access to services, weather exposure and the voluntary nature of relocations.

Within Cox’s Bazar, authorities and humanitarian organisations have strengthened slopes, constructed drainage systems, planted vegetation and moved some families from high-risk locations. However, population density and limited space mean that thousands of people continue living close to dangerous hillsides.

The July 6 landslides show the limits of incremental risk reduction. Camp improvements can reduce casualties, but they cannot completely eliminate the danger created when a population of more than one million people is concentrated within environmentally fragile and overcrowded terrain.

How are Bangladesh authorities responding to the threat of further monsoon landslides?

Authorities had relocated at least 1,000 Rohingya refugees from areas identified as vulnerable before and during the July emergency. Officials said several thousand more people would be moved in phases as safer locations became available.

Public announcements were being made through loudspeakers across high-risk areas, urging residents to leave unstable slopes and follow instructions from camp authorities. Awareness campaigns were also underway to explain warning signs, evacuation routes and the importance of moving before conditions deteriorated.

Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman said relocation efforts were continuing. The response involves government agencies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, emergency services and community volunteers.

Rohingya volunteers are essential because they live inside the camps and can respond before outside rescue teams arrive. Volunteers monitor slopes, relay warnings, assist evacuations and search damaged shelters. Their knowledge of local paths and households is particularly valuable during nighttime emergencies.

Relocation remains difficult because families may be reluctant to leave shelters containing their belongings, food supplies and documentation. Some may also fear losing access to established community networks or being moved to sites further from services.

Authorities must therefore balance urgency with practical protection. Temporary evacuation can save lives during intense rainfall, but long-term safety requires more durable shelters, stabilised slopes, functioning drainage and enough suitable land to prevent families from returning to dangerous areas.

How have humanitarian funding cuts weakened monsoon preparedness in the Rohingya camps?

The July 6 disaster occurred during a serious funding shortage affecting food, shelter, healthcare, education and protection services for Rohingya refugees and vulnerable Bangladeshi host communities.

The United Nations and the Bangladesh government launched a $710.5 million humanitarian appeal in 2026. By early June, only approximately 60% of the requested amount had been funded, even though the appeal was already 26% smaller than the previous year’s request.

Funding constraints force humanitarian agencies to make difficult choices between immediate survival needs and longer-term risk reduction. Food assistance, emergency healthcare and protection services cannot easily be suspended, but underfunding can delay drainage repairs, slope reinforcement, shelter maintenance and relocation projects.

Reduced resources also affect the ability to hire and equip community workers who clear drainage channels, maintain paths and identify unstable terrain. Small maintenance failures can become deadly during extreme rainfall when water cannot move safely through a densely populated camp.

Humanitarian organisations have warned that cuts to assistance are occurring while the refugee population is increasing. Around 150,000 additional Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh since early 2024 after renewed conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

The funding challenge therefore involves both declining resources and rising need. Agencies are attempting to protect more people from monsoon hazards while also responding to food insecurity, disease, violence, trafficking and the arrival of newly displaced families.

Private and institutional support can finance individual resilience projects, but isolated contributions cannot replace a fully funded humanitarian response. Sustainable disaster preparedness requires predictable multi-year financing rather than emergency appeals launched after people have already been killed.

What does the July 6 disaster reveal about climate exposure and refugee protection?

Cox’s Bazar faces recurring landslides, flash floods, cyclones, heatwaves and lightning. Climate change can intensify the broader pattern of extreme weather exposure, although no single rainfall event can be attributed to climate change without detailed scientific analysis.

The humanitarian consequences are nevertheless shaped by inequality. Heavy rainfall affects the entire district, but refugees living in lightweight shelters beneath unstable slopes face risks that people in stronger buildings and safer locations may avoid.

Rohingya refugees also have limited ability to adapt independently. Restrictions on employment and movement leave most families dependent on humanitarian assistance. They cannot easily purchase safer land, construct permanent homes or relocate to another part of Bangladesh.

The disaster therefore reflects a combination of natural hazard and political vulnerability. Rain triggered the landslides, but overcrowding, deforestation, insecure shelter and prolonged displacement determined who was most exposed.

United Nations data released before the July 6 incident showed that landslides in the camps had killed 28 people and injured 80 between 2021 and June 29, 2026. The latest deaths add another severe episode to a documented pattern rather than representing an isolated accident.

Long-term protection will require infrastructure capable of handling heavier rainfall, larger safe zones, improved early-warning systems and policies that reduce the dependency of refugees. Without structural changes, each monsoon season will recreate many of the same risks.

Why does renewed fighting in Myanmar make a safe solution increasingly difficult?

The Rohingya camps were originally presented as a temporary response to mass displacement from Myanmar. Nearly nine years later, conditions inside Myanmar still do not support large-scale, safe and voluntary repatriation.

Renewed conflict in Rakhine State has displaced additional Rohingya and raised fears of another movement towards Bangladesh. Bangladeshi security forces have increased monitoring along the border amid reports that people are gathering in areas close to the frontier.

Bangladesh has repeatedly argued that it cannot indefinitely carry responsibility for one of the world’s largest refugee populations. The country wants Myanmar to create conditions allowing Rohingya families to return with safety, citizenship rights and protection from further persecution.

Rohingya refugees remain reluctant to return without guarantees. Previous repatriation initiatives failed because families did not believe the conditions inside Myanmar were safe or that their legal and political status would be protected.

The continuing conflict creates a dangerous cycle. New arrivals increase pressure on overcrowded camps, while instability prevents existing refugees from returning. Humanitarian funding then declines because the crisis becomes prolonged and competes with emergencies elsewhere.

The July 6 landslides are therefore connected to the unresolved political crisis in Myanmar. Bangladesh can improve drainage, relocate families and reinforce slopes, but those measures cannot provide a permanent solution for a population denied a secure future in its country of origin.

What should authorities and humanitarian agencies watch after the Cox’s Bazar landslides?

The immediate priority is the weather. Additional heavy rain could trigger new slope failures, flash flooding and damage to roads needed by ambulances and rescue vehicles.

Officials must also monitor shelters that have not collapsed but may have suffered foundation damage or soil movement. Families should not return to structures until slopes and surrounding drainage have been assessed.

The pace of relocation will be another important indicator. Moving 1,000 people represents an emergency response, but officials have acknowledged that several thousand more remain in danger and will require safer accommodation.

Humanitarian funding will determine whether temporary relocations become sustainable. Families moved from hazardous areas need shelters, water, sanitation, healthcare, cooking facilities and protection services at their new locations.

The wider border situation also requires attention. Another influx from Rakhine State during the monsoon would place additional pressure on registration centres, emergency accommodation and food assistance.

The disaster has produced a clear warning before the monsoon reaches its later stages. The question is whether authorities and donors can act during the current period of heightened risk rather than waiting for the next fatal landslide to expose the same vulnerabilities again.

What are the key takeaways from the July 6 Cox’s Bazar and Rohingya camp landslides?

• At least nine people were killed during the early hours of July 6, 2026, when heavy monsoon rainfall triggered separate landslides across three Rohingya refugee camps in Ukhiya and a residential area of Cox’s Bazar municipality.
• Eight Rohingya refugees died in Camps 7, 11 and 15, while a Bangladeshi resident died after a hillside collapsed onto his family home. Five children were among those killed in the overnight disasters.
• More than 250 millimetres of rain fell during the 24 hours ending at 6 a.m., with weather officials linking the downpour to an active monsoon and a well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.
• Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel, Armed Police Battalion members, camp officials, local residents and Rohingya volunteers worked through the night to recover victims and rescue people trapped beneath mud and damaged shelters.
• Authorities have relocated at least 1,000 refugees from landslide-prone locations and plan to move several thousand more, while continuing rainfall has left already saturated slopes vulnerable to additional failures.
• Close to 1.2 million Rohingya refugees live in Bangladesh, with more than 1.16 million concentrated in 33 congested camps across Cox’s Bazar where many families occupy bamboo and plastic shelters on steep terrain.
• The United Nations and Bangladesh sought $710.5 million for the 2026 Rohingya response, but the appeal was only approximately 60% funded in early June despite growing needs and the arrival of about 150,000 additional refugees since 2024.
• Renewed conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State continues to prevent safe large-scale repatriation and could drive further arrivals, leaving Bangladesh and humanitarian agencies managing both immediate monsoon danger and an unresolved displacement crisis.