The confirmed death toll from a week of torrential monsoon rain across southeastern Bangladesh has risen to 51, with 39 more people injured and more than a million residents stranded, as flooding and landslides sweep through Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts. Bangladesh's Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief is describing the Bangladesh Floods as one of the most severe monsoon disasters the country has faced in years.
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre recorded extraordinary rainfall totals between July 7 and July 10 — 815 millimetres in Chattogram, 518 millimetres in Lama and 330 millimetres in Cox's Bazar — sending rivers in two of Bangladesh's four major river basins past danger levels. Cox's Bazar has recorded the highest toll with 28 deaths, followed by 13 in Chattogram, six in Bandarban, three in Rangamati and one in Moulvibazar. Among the Cox's Bazar deaths are 16 Rohingya refugees killed in a separate series of slope failures that also form part of the broader Rohingya camp landslides emergency.
The Chattogram divisional commissioner's office estimates that 267,918 families are marooned, roughly 80,000 homesteads have been damaged or destroyed, 344 educational institutions are inundated, and floodwaters have washed out 3,840 kilometres of road and 339 bridges and culverts. Nearly 50,000 people have taken refuge in emergency shelters, while the Bangladesh Army, Fire Service and Civil Defence, and Border Guard Bangladesh are running search-and-rescue operations across the flood belt.
International humanitarian responders have scaled up quickly. Save the Children is expanding child-protection, psychosocial support and temporary learning centres for displaced families. CARE is supporting emergency shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene services across the worst-hit districts, and the American Red Cross is contributing to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' response through the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. International Medical Corps is deploying mobile health teams into cut-off communities, and Direct Relief is coordinating medical supply deliveries with local partners.
Forecasters are monitoring several river basins for the possibility of new short-term flooding in the coming days, and officials caution that the death toll is likely to rise as damage assessments continue in villages that remain isolated. To support relief efforts, please visit the Bangladesh Floods disaster page or browse the full organization directory for other ways to help.
