Heavy rains in southern Bangladesh have left many in the Rohingya refugee community without adequate shelter, said a refugee leader in Teknaf on condition of anonymity.

Incessant rains have lashed the country since October 5, with local and international media reporting that 17 people have been killed and 41 fishermen remain missing across the southern coast.

Rainfall and an accompanying storm surge in the lowlands of Cox’s Bazaar district destroyed several small wooden homes, including bamboo structures in Rohingya refugee camps.

Another Rohingya refugee leader said that wind and rain destroyed shelters in the Leda (Tal) camp, which were built five years ago by Islamic relief organizations but that have since not been well-maintained.

Tayaba Khatoon (40) lost her shelter in Block F of Leda camp, a refugee leader there said, leaving her and her four children without shelter, food or money as rain continues to pound the area.

The refugee leader said several other residents of Block F had also lost their shelters and that local humanitarian groups such as Muslim Aid have said they do not have the resources to rebuild or renovate camp housing.

About 12,000 Rohingya refugees live in the Leda camp, where they struggle to secure employment and food to sustain their families, the refugee leader said. Damage caused by recent storms has left them to fend for themselves or to rely on the assistance of other camp residents to secure food and water, as aid agencies have not been able to provide anything except basic medicines.

Storms have also ravaged other parts of southern Bangladesh. A trader from Zala Para, a fishing village in Shapuri Dip, said that strong winds and a tidal surge had damaged 32 houses there, mostly among the Rohingya community there.

Minister of Parliament Abdu Rahaman Bodi visited the area on October 9 and distributed 500 Taka to a handful of families, the trader said, adding that most families had received nothing.

Heavy rainfall has also left areas of southern Bangladesh completely isolated. A village elder in Shapuri Dip said storm damage to the road leading to Teknaf had blocked all traffic through the area and that flood waters had destroyed local paddy fields.

A tidal surge in Cox’s Bazaar left nearly 52 villages inundated, a local fisherman said, adding that about 10 fishing trawlers, 75 per cent of which were manned by Rohingya fishermen, have not yet returned to shore.