Tensions are escalating in Rangamati as continued heavy downpour amid active monsoon and a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal, has heightened the risk of landslides across the hill district.
Rangamati Met office foresses heavy to very heavy rain is likely to persist in Chattogram and adjoining hill districts, significantly raising the likelihood of landslides in vulnerable areas. Defying evacuation warnings, many residents in the high-risk zones. They are either reluctant or unable to leave their own homes.
District administration officials said, around 20,000 people from 5,000 families are currently residing in landslide-prone areas, with 31 locations within Rangamati town officially marked as high-risk. Authorities have expressed concern over the slow pace of evacuation, especially given the district’s tragic history of landslides.
“We are prepared to deal with any disaster. Our response teams are on standby and ready to be deployed wherever needed,” said Nejarat Deputy Collector (NDC) Nabil Nawrose Baishakh on Tuesday.
Rangamati has witnessed some of the deadliest landslides in the country’s recent history. In 2017, at least 120 people were killed in a series of devastating landslides, and 11 more lives were lost in 2018. A major road collapse during the 2017 disaster left the district isolated for nine days.
With rainfall showing no sign of abating, officials are renewing their appeal to residents in vulnerable zones to take shelter in designated safe locations without delay.