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Published : 15 Jul 2026, 07:38 PM
More than 1.1 million people have been affected by flooding across Bangladesh since Jul 4, prompting Oxfam to scale up its emergency response with an initial allocation of Tk 12.07 million.
Heavy monsoon rainfall and upstream runoff have triggered flooding, waterlogging and landslides across 10 districts, with Chattogram bearing the heaviest impact while Cox's Bazar, including the Rohingya refugee camps, continues to face severe risks, the aid agency said in a media statement.
"This is one emergency unfolding across two distinct contexts," Oxfam in Bangladesh Country Director Anil Pant said.
"The floods and their cascading impacts have severely disrupted people's lives and livelihoods. In Chattogram and other affected districts, families have lost homes, income and access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
“In Cox's Bazar, the danger is especially acute, as Rohingya families live in densely populated camps on fragile slopes, with limited space for safe relocation and heightened exposure to flooding and landslides,” he added.
According to Oxfam, the floods have killed dozens of people, displaced thousands and damaged homes, roads, embankments, water points, latrines, cropland, fisheries and businesses.
Many families have lost food stocks, bedding, cooking utensils and other household belongings, while thousands remain stranded in flooded communities.
Some households are unable to cook because they have neither dry space nor fuel, the organisation said.
The disaster has affected people across Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Bandarban, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar and Habiganj, leaving 53 dead and 39 injured as of Jul 14, it added.
Oxfam identified safe drinking water, emergency food, shelter materials, hygiene and dignity kits, sanitation support and flexible cash assistance as the most urgent needs.
It said at least 3,500 water points and 12,400 latrines have been damaged, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.
Longer-term recovery will require repairs to homes and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, alongside support to restore livelihoods.
"The water rose so quickly that we could save almost nothing. Our food, bedding and cooking utensils are gone, and finding clean water has become very difficult," Akkas Ali, a flood-affected resident of Satkania in Chattogram.
"We need food, safe drinking water and support to repair our home so that our family can start again."
In Cox's Bazar's Rohingya camps, Oxfam said 164 landslides and 42 flooding incidents have been reported.
At least 15 Rohingya refugees were killed after shelters and facilities collapsed.
A total of 9,707 people were displaced and temporarily relocated, while 482 weather-related incidents affected about 43,000 people in 9,463 households.
Floodwater entered shelters and inundated WASH facilities, while prolonged cloudy weather left many households without lighting.
Oxfam said women and girls, children, older people, people with disabilities, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and female-headed households face heightened protection and health risks because of overcrowding, unstable slopes and damaged drainage systems.
The organisation said it has begun emergency operations through local partners, carrying out rapid needs and gender assessments while coordinating with government agencies, the Needs Assessment Working Group and UN clusters.
In Chattogram, planned assistance includes emergency food, safe drinking water, hygiene and dignity kits containing soap, detergent, sanitary pads, oral rehydration salts, Sarees and Lungis.
It also plans to provide multipurpose cash grants of Tk 8,000 per household to help vulnerable families cover food, shelter repairs, healthcare, transport and livelihood costs.
In Cox's Bazar, Oxfam and its partners are assessing damage and repairing affected facilities. The organisation has also supplied personal protective equipment to 100 Rohingya volunteers working as frontline responders.
"We are already on the ground with our partners, listening to affected communities and acting on their most urgent priorities," Pant said.
"Our initial allocation is an important first step, but the scale of need is far greater. We call on donors, businesses, development partners and concerned citizens to provide flexible funding so that more families can receive life-saving assistance and rebuild with dignity."
Oxfam said it aims to reach up to 160,000 people through a locally led, gender-responsive response focused on emergency relief, livelihood recovery and climate-resilient reconstruction, with a funding target of €3 million.
