Rangamati landslides batter 1,700 families

The district administration estimates that around 1,700 families have fallen victim to last week’s landslides in Rangamati.

A week after the country's deadliest landslides, Rangamati’s Deputy Commissioner Manzarul Mannan disclosed the numbers on Monday.

He also said the death toll in the hilly district also went up to 118 that includes the three people who have been missing since last week.

“These three haven’t been found in the past seven days.  That’s why we decided to add them to the death toll,” Mannan said.

They have been identified as Salahuddin, 30, his wife Raima Begum, 25, and Mohammad Darbesh Ali, 32. All of them were from Rupnagar area.

“We are yet to receive the full list of the victims. But the data collected so far from different upazilas shows that landslides affected about 1,700 families.”

In the Vedvedi neighbourhood of Rangamati Sadar alone, 1,130 families were left devastated.

The local authorities have also formed a committee to assess the extent of damage and it is expected to submit its findings within two days.

Mannan said the district administration would also provide aid to the students in the landslide-ravaged neighbourhoods.

After last week’s mudslides, many families had taken refuge at the shelters opened by the local authorities. But they went back home after the situation returned to normal.

However, many families fearing further landslides returned to the shelters when it started raining in Rangamati on Monday morning.

As many as 643 families have so far taken refuge in 19 shelters, according to Mannan.