Heavy, torrential rains drenched the country, triggering landslides which have so far left 12 dead in Cox’s Bazar and Rangamati over the last two days, district officials said.

The death toll increased on Tuesday after landslides claimed the lives of one woman in the Darianagar area of Cox’s Bazar and another in Rangamati.

“Among the dead, eight were killed in the Rohingya camps alone in three different incidents on Monday,” MA Mannan, Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar, said.

Two other fatalities were reported on Monday — one in Cox’s Bazar town and another in Pekua upazila.

The victims include at least three women and six children.

Authorities have relocated at least 125 Rohingya refugee families to safer locations.

But there are worries of the 1.2 million refugees homed in sprawling camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Elsewhere in Chattogram, persistent heavy rainfall, coupled with hill runoff and high tides in the Karnaphuli River triggered widespread waterlogging in the port city, severely disrupting normal life and transport.

Large parts of the city remained submerged on Tuesday, leaving office-goers, students, airport-bound passengers, pedestrians and daily wage earners struggling to reach their destinations.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) on Monday issued a warning over possible landslides in parts of Chattogram Division.

According to a weather bulletin issued on Monday, from 2pm onward, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions may experience heavy rainfall to very heavy rainfall during this period.

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, Cox’s Bazar received 176 millimetres of rainfall over the past 33 hours, while Chattogram recorded nearly 400 millimetres in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, 79 tourists and tour guides stranded in Bandarban have been moved to safe places, state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) reported.

Authorities shut all tourist attractions in Bandarban on Monday until July 10 after two days of torrential rain triggered flash floods, disrupted transport links and raised the risk of landslides across the hill district.

The district administration said the measure was taken to protect tourists and residents from weather-related hazards.

Communications with the country’s only coral island, Saint Martin’s, have remained suspended for the last five days, Saint Martin’s UP Chairman Foyezul Islam said.

Heavy rains frequently trigger flooding and landslides in Bangladesh's southeastern hill districts.

In June 2017, at least 149 people were killed in landslides in the districts of Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati and Bandarban.

Earlier, in June 2007, more than 120 people were killed in Chattogram alone in mudslides caused by heavy monsoon rains.

Experts and officials attribute the growing risk of landslides to widespread deforestation, including forest clearance for shelters in the Rohingya camps and indiscriminate tree felling across the hill districts.

The Met Office said that heavy rainfall may continue for the next two days due to the influence of a well-marked low-pressure area and active monsoon winds over the Bay of Bengal.