Monsoon worry for Rohingyas

With early rains falling on the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, the fear of natural calamities has heightened among the refugees living in tiny shanties made of bamboo poles and tarpaulin in the district's Ukhia and Teknaf.

Over 700,000 Rohingyas, who crossed over into the coastal district fleeing persecution in Myanmar since August, are dwelling in shacks that are too weak to stand heavy rains and storm.

So far, 120,000 shelter kits, which include bamboo poles, tarpaulin, ropes and tools, have been distributed among the refugees for building shanties, said Ratan Kumar Podder, co-coordinator, shelter sector of Inter sector Coordination Group (ISCG) in Cox's Bazar.

Refugees were also trained on how to build those shanties more strong and risk free, he said, adding that aid workers are also working to distribute the shelter kits to another 60,000 families by May.

According to the UN Migration Agency, the cost of work to help protect almost a million refugees from the life-threatening dangers of cyclones, severe flooding, and landslides far exceeds current financial resources and pledges.

To date just seven percent of IOM's $182 million funding appeal for the rest of the year has been secured.

John McCue, IOM's senior operations coordinator in Cox's Bazar, said: "The arrival of the rains first marks the start of what is going to be an incredibly challenging period for the refugees and those working to support them, with the worst yet to come when cyclone and monsoon seasons hit in the coming weeks.”

"IOM and our partners are working flat out to do as much as possible to mitigate risks and prepare people for the dangers to come. But the grim reality is that most people are living under tarpaulins on highly unstable ground and are going to have to survive months of rain, floods, landslides and possible cyclones. They are in desperate need of support and protection and we simply do not have the funding we need to deliver a fraction of what is required.”

The refugees and aid workers are mostly worried by the risk of storms, especially cyclone when the wind speed could rise up to 140km per hour.

Md Arif, a Rohingya refugee at a makeshift Balukhali camp, said his house at Buchidong in Myanmar was built of wood and that was strong enough to protect them from cyclone.

If a mid-range cyclone with wind force between 80km/h and 90km/h hits the area, a large number of Rohingya shanties will be destroyed, said Prof ASM Maksud Kamal of Department of Disaster Science and Management at Dhaka University.

A cyclone that struck Teknaf last year with 80km/h to 130km/h forcer smashed around 25,000 houses, he noted.

According to the data of Bangladesh Meteorological Department, in the last three consecutive years, cyclone Mora with 146km/h wind speed, Roanu with 128km/h and Komen with 65km/h wind speed swept Chittagong region including Cox's Bazar.

Prof Maksud added that cyclone and heavy rainfall bring hazards like flash flood and landslide and the area hosting Rohingyas are prone to those dangers.

Most of the Rohingya settlements were build in a traditional way to meet up the need for emergency shelter and dwelling in those would be risky during stormy weather, said Professor Maksud.

A joint study carried out by UNHCR, IOM and Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre presented in February showed that around 2,00,000 Rohingyas are at risk of landslide and flash flood in monsoon.

Of them, 25,000 face “extreme risk” of natural calamity, said a source at the Office of Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission