Landslide risk mounts in five hilly areas

Bangladesh’s hilly districts are again facing growing landslide risks as heavy rainfall, unsafe hill cutting, weak drainage and unplanned settlements continue to put thousands of people in danger during the monsoon season.

The risk is highest in the Chattogram Hill Tracts – Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari – as well as Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar, where many families live on or below unstable slopes.

Each year, the arrival of heavy monsoon rain turns these hills into danger zones, especially for low-income communities who often have no safer place to move.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has repeatedly warned that heavy to very heavy rainfall can trigger landslides in the hilly regions of Chattogram division.

In its latest heavy-rainfall warning on 2 May 2026, BMD said temporary waterlogging could occur in parts of the country and landslides may take place in hilly areas due to heavy to very heavy rainfall.

Experts say the warning is not seasonal routine only; it reflects a long-running disaster pattern. Landslides in Bangladesh are no longer isolated events.

They have become a recurring monsoon threat, particularly in areas where hills have been cut for houses, roads, settlements and other infrastructure.

A peer-reviewed study on landslide fatalities in Bangladesh found that 204 reported landslides caused 727 deaths and 1,017 injuries between 2000 and 2018.

The figures show how deadly the hazard has become, although many smaller incidents remain underreported.

The worst recent disaster occurred in June 2017, when continuous heavy rainfall triggered hundreds of landslides across the Chattogram Hill Tracts and surrounding areas.

According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, the 2017 disaster claimed 170 lives in Bandarban, Khagrachhari, Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar, including 121 deaths in Rangamati alone, and injured 227 people. Roads, houses, farms and public infrastructure were badly damaged.

More recent disasters show that the danger has not gone away. In August 2023, floods and landslides in the Chattogram region killed 51 people – 20 in Cox’s Bazar, 16 in Chattogram, 10 in Bandarban and five in Rangamati.

Around 1.3 million people were affected, including hundreds of thousands of children and women.

Cox’s Bazar remains one of the most exposed areas because of its steep slopes, dense settlements and Rohingya refugee camps.

In June 2024, monsoon rains triggered landslides in the camps, killing 10 people.

Separate hazard reports later noted that landslide incidents in June 2024 killed 14 people, including Rohingya refugees and a pregnant mother.

Reuters also reported another deadly Cox’s Bazar landslide in September 2024 after three days of heavy rain, when six people were killed, including three Rohingya refugees.

The pattern is clear: when intense rainfall falls on fragile hills, communities living on risky slopes become the first victims.

Environmental researchers say the natural risk is being worsened by human activity.

Hill cutting, deforestation, poor land-use planning, blocked drainage, road construction, soil erosion and building houses on steep slopes all increase the chance of slope failure.

In many places, people remove vegetation and flatten parts of hills to build homes, weakening the soil structure.

When heavy rain saturates the soil, slopes can collapse suddenly.
Poor communities are the most vulnerable.

Many families know the danger but continue living on slopes because of poverty, landlessness and lack of affordable housing.

During evacuation drives, some move temporarily to shelters but return once the rain stops because their homes, work and belongings remain on the hills.

Disaster management officials usually conduct awareness campaigns and evacuation drives before and during heavy rain.

Local administrations in hilly districts often use loudspeakers, volunteers and police to urge families to move from risky slopes.

However, these short-term steps are not enough unless permanent relocation, safe housing and strict control over hill cutting are ensured.

Urban planners argue that the country needs a stronger hill management policy.

They say landslide-prone zones should be clearly mapped, risky settlements should be relocated, and construction on unstable slopes should be stopped.

Early warning systems must also reach people at household level, not only through official bulletins.

A disaster risk expert suggested that Bangladesh should treat landslides as a predictable monsoon hazard, not as a sudden accident. “The same areas become dangerous every year.

The solution must include risk mapping, safe shelters, drainage improvement, slope protection and long-term rehabilitation for families living in danger zones,” the expert said.

A local environmental activist from the Chattogram region said hill cutting continues because of weak enforcement.

“Warnings are issued every year, but hills are still being cut and people are still living in danger.

If the authorities do not stop illegal hill cutting and provide safe housing, deaths will continue,” the activist said.

The Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar require special attention. More than one million Rohingya live in densely packed settlements, many in bamboo-and-tarpaulin shelters on vulnerable slopes.

Humanitarian agencies have built drainage systems, slope protection works and emergency shelters, but heavy rainfall still creates serious risks.

Climate change is also making the situation more complex. Scientists warn that intense rainfall events are becoming more frequent in South Asia.

For Bangladesh’s hilly regions, this means more pressure on already fragile slopes.

Even if total seasonal rainfall does not rise sharply, short bursts of very heavy rain can trigger deadly landslides.