Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps become increasingly vulnerable to landslides

A Bangladeshi government report released Sept. 16 found more than 150,000 Rohingya refugees have entered the country's 33 camps in Cox's Bazar in recent months, pushing the officially registered population past 1.17 million people crammed into about 24 square kilometers. The camps were built on cleared forest and sandy hill slopes, and repeated studies have found that slope-cutting for housing has sharply increased landslide risk since 2017.

Between July 4 and 19 of this year, more than 200 landslides struck the camps, killing at least 15 people including five adolescent girls. A 2025 study mapping slope units found the number rated moderate-to-high landslide risk nearly tripled between the start of the influx and 2021, and researchers recommend immediate stabilization work on 287 slopes.

Officials say they hoist red flags on the most dangerous slopes each monsoon season, but residents like Morium Begum, who has lived in Camp 4 since 2017, say they'd rather stay put than relocate again. The disaster risk management program serving the camps is only 40% funded, leaving a $23.2 million shortfall, while the broader camp coordination effort needs another $73.9 million for slope stabilization and drainage work that hasn't materialized.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.