Floods Worsen in Cox's Bazar as Rain Strands 200,000

The flood situation in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, remains critical as renewed rainfall overnight and throughout the day has caused water levels to rise again, reversing earlier improvements and leaving approximately 200,000 people stranded across three upazilas. Large areas of Chakaria, Pekua, and Matamuhuri remain submerged, with many residents marooned for seven to eight days.

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More than 100,000 people are still marooned. It is true that many have not yet received relief.

Residents describe the situation as more severe than before, with thousands lacking adequate food, drinking water, and cooking facilities. They allege that while those living along main roads have received some assistance, many families in remote flood-hit villages have yet to receive any aid. The continuous rain has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis, making access to essential supplies increasingly difficult.

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Nearly 50,000 people are currently marooned. All seven unions of the upazila have been affected. We are arranging 1,000 relief packages for each union, but the assistance is still inadequate compared to the actual need.

Local administration officials acknowledge the severity of the situation. Shahin Delwar, Chakaria Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), stated that although water levels had fallen significantly on the previous day, the heavy downpour pushed the situation back to its previous level, with over 100,000 people still marooned. He confirmed that many have not yet received relief and that the administration has already spent twice its government allocation on emergency response.

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We have no way to cook. We are surviving on whatever dry food we can manage.

Pekua UNO Rafiqul Islam reported that nearly 50,000 people are currently marooned in his upazila, with all seven unions affected. While relief packages are being arranged, he admitted the assistance is inadequate compared to the actual need. Residents like Shamsul Alam from Pekua and Nurul Afsar from Matamuhuri shared harrowing accounts of being stranded for days without relief, relying on scarce dry food and facing an acute humanitarian crisis. They expressed urgent fears that the situation will worsen significantly if aid does not arrive soon.

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There is no way to cook food. Dry food is our only hope, but even that is becoming unavailable. If relief does not reach us soon, the situation will become much worse.