Flooding Displaces Rohingya Refugees in South Bangladesh

Monsoon rains flooded makeshift Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh on September 19, as the United Nations discussed the crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

This footage from September 19 shows people wading through muddy thigh-deep floodwater in the Balukhali camp near Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Division. A bamboo bridge built the day before and a number of tent homes were destroyed by heavy rain, according to journalists on the scene.

According to reports, more than half of the more than 400,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are living in makeshift encampments without adequate shelter, supplies or facilities. A woman and two children were reportedly killed by a stampede at Balukhali camp on September 15, as refugees rushed to receive aid handouts.

The United Nations on September 19 said it was scaling up its assistance for Rohingya refugees.

Addressing the UN General Assembly that day, Secretary-General António Guterres condemned what he described as “a vicious cycle of persecution, discrimination, radicalization and violent repression,” and urged the Myanmar government to end military operations in Rakhine and allow unhindered humanitarian access. Credit: Twitter/Richard Weir via Storyful, Human Rights Watch