Chattogram Bureau :
About six thousand settlers in the hilly areas of Port city of Chattogram are vulnerable to landslides as heavy rainfall, fueled by a low-pressure in the Bay of Bengal, continued to descend on the city since Thursday night.Besides, the incessant downpour has also heightened the risk of flooding in the low-lying areas.
Among these, the Kattali land circle, home to over 4,500 precarious settlers , is at high risk, Arafat Siddiqui, assistant commissioner (Land) of the circle, confirmed to The New Nation.
Residents in the identified vulnerable areas have been warned and asked to evacuate to safety by local administrations.
But officials say their warnings are not being heard.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has also issued warnings in this regard, advising caution for those living in the vulnerable hilly areas.
According to the BMD, the low-pressure in the Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify, affecting Chattogram and other regions..The BMD has instructed seaports in Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla, and Payra to display local warning signal number 3 due to the unstable weather conditions.Coastal communities and those in at-risk areas have been advised to remain vigilant.Despite warnings, residents have not yet evacuated,” said Commissioner Arafat.
Meanwhile, climate change is greatly increasing the risk of landslides in the Chattogram endangering the lives of 10 lakh residents, a new study shows.
Conducted by the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at Chittagong University, the research links changing monsoon rainfall patterns, caused by climate change, to more frequent landslides in the area.
Additional factors include deforestation, uncontrolled hill cutting, unplanned settlements, poor hill management, and the government’s failure to act on landslide prevention recommendations.
Bangladesh’s hilly regions, including Greater Chattogram, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Cox’s Bazar, and Sylhet districts, have a history of landslides.
The first recorded landslide happened in 1968 on the Kaptai-Chandraghona road, but no casualties were reported. The first known death from a landslide occurred in 1970 on the Ghagra-Rangamati road. Since 1990, the number of landslide casualties during the monsoon season has been rising in the division.
From 2000 to 2018, there were an average of 11 landslides each year, causing 34 deaths and 54 injuries annually.
Over the past 17 years, Chattogram district has had the most landslides with 208 incidents, followed by Rangamati with 193, Cox’s Bazar with 124, Bandarban with 118, and Khagrachhari with 87, study sources said.