2007 Chittagong mudslide

The 2007 Chittagong Mudslide occurred in the port city of Chittagong in south-eastern Bangladesh. On 11 June 2007, heavy monsoon rainfall caused landslides that engulfed slums around the hilly areas of the city. Experts had previously warned the increasing likelihood of landslides due to the Bangladesh government's failure in curbing the illegal hill cutting taking place in Chittagong. [http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/06/12/d7061201033.htm Mindless hill-cutting caused mudslide] . The Daily Star. 2007-06-12.]

Extent of the disaster

One third of Chittagong, a city of five million residents, came under water due to heavy rainfall and tidal water. [http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20070611091822464C989481 Landslides kill 30 in Bangladesh] , IOL, 2007-06-11.] The flash floods in the hills caused mud slides and rubble to bury shanties at the foot of the hills near Chittagong Cantonment. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1104AP_Bangladesh_Mudslides.html Mudslides in Bangladesh city kill 35] , Osman Gani Mansur, Associated Press.] Many residents took refuge in local mosques after losing their homes in the disaster. The death toll was reported to be at least 128, including at least 59 children, with more than 150 injured. [http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_36828.shtml Strong action against mentors of hill cutting: 8000 people to be evacuated] The New Nation. 2007-06-15.] [http://thedailystar.net/2007/06/14/d7061401149.htm Death toll now 123 in Ctg mudslides] . The Daily Star. 2007-06-14.] [http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/06/12/d7061201011.htm Walls of mud turn Ctg into city of death] . The Daily Star. 2007-06-11.] [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP26967.htm Bangladesh landslides, rain kill 68 people] , Reuters, June 11, 2007. ] [ [http://nationmultimedia.com/worldhotnews/read.php?newsid=30036551 Floods, landslides claim 52 in Bangladesh] The Nation. 2007-06-11.] [ [http://story.malaysiasun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/303b19022816233b/id/255874/cs/1/ Rain-triggered mudslide kills 39 in Bangladesh] . Malaysia Sun. 2007-06-12] This is expected to rise further as the rescue efforts got underway and additional reports were received. The government asked the local authorities to evacuate 8,000 people from Lebubagan, the worst hit area. The country-wide death toll from the floods and landslides neared 130 on June 12, according to Reuters. Most of the deaths were a result of the landslides or from buildings collapsing in the rain.

Communication infrastructure was badly affected with telephone links with the rest of the country and within the city inoperable. Kalurghat Radio Station had to be shutdown as its offices were submerged in six feet of water. Flights to the city's Shah Amanat International Airport, were suspended and the Chittagong Port, serving 90% of the country's foreign trade, was closed. [ [http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/06/12/d7061201022.htm Businesses come to a rain halt] . The Daily Star. 2007-06-12.]

Disaster management

Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed and his Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed have been in touch with the local administration to keep abreast of ongoing developments and the government has approved Tk 9 lakh to assist the victims. This is the first natural disaster to befall the country since the caretaker government was put in place in January 2007.

Causes of the disaster

Bangladesh’s annual monsoon for 2007 started with unusually heavy rain, intensified by a storm from the Bay of Bengal on June 9-June 10, 2007. By June 11, more than one-third of the southeastern coastal city of Chittagong was under water, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In addition to the floods, the rains triggered devastating landslides in the deforested hills on which the city is built.

Chittagong District Commissioner Mukhlesur Rahman blamed hill cutting for the disaster. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1948143.htm Floods, landslides kill dozens in Bangladesh] . ABC News. 2007-06-12.] Lalkhan Bazar, one of the worst damaged area in the mudslide, has been identified as one of the most affected by hill cutting led by influential people. Professor of Geography and Environmental studies in Chittagong University Shahidul Islam explained,"The only reason for Monday’s mud slide in the cantonment area is cutting hills indiscriminately... We were warning about this risk for decades, and this event our fears real." Architect Jerina Hossain said, "Cutting hills made the soil slippery and loose. As a result, it came down with the rain."Citation | last=Choudhury | first=Iqbal Hossain | title=পাহাড়ে বিভীষিকা | newspaper="Chutir Dine", Prothom Alo | volume=403 | issue= | pages=4–6 | year=2007 | language=Bengali| date=2007-06-13 | url= ] Communications Adviser of the Bangladesh Government Major General MA Matin supervising the rescue operation on behalf of the Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed directed Chittagong divisional and district administration to identify those responsible for hill cutting on June 14. [ [http://www.theindependent-bd.com/hotnews.php?nid=2657 Matin orders affirm stop to hill cutting] The Independent. 2007-06-14.]

Other areas

In the same monsoon onslaught other areas in Bangladesh suffered in varying degrees. In the nearby town of Comilla, to the north, 60,000 people were rendered homeless and in the adjacent district of Cox's Bazar, to the south, 400,000 people were marooned in floods. [ [http://www.adrc.or.jp/view_disaster_en.php?Lang=en&Key=52&Frame=yes ADRC Disaster Report] . Asian Disaster Reduction Center. 2007-06-12] Three more people were injured in another mudslide in the nearby hill town of Rangamati to the east, where Kaptai Lake became dangerously overflooded to threaten a 230 megawatt hydro-electric plant. [ [http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=4714&method=full Millions marooned by floods in Bangladesh] . The Heat is Online. 2007-06-12] On the day of the mudslide in Chittagong, 11 people died in lightning strikes in Rangamati, Noakhali and Brahmanbaria districts around the disaster damaged areas. [ [http://www.tri-cityherald.com/24hour/world/story/3637768p-12969949c.html Monsoon kills at least 78 in Bangladesh] Osman Gani Mansoor, AP, Tri-City Herald. 2007-06-12]

References

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/6742541.stm In pictures: Bangladesh floods] . BBC News.