Pelting rain, relocation add to woes in Rohingya Muslim camp

Weary and uncertain, they carried whatever they could on their backs, trudging through monsoon rains and enduring relocations and extortion attempts as they struggle to find small patches of land that can be their own, at least for a moment.

Young Rohingya Muslims stand on a slope and stretch their arms out to receive food being distributed near Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Muddied clothing lay on a rain-soaked ground where Rohingya families earlier camped, after the government moved them to newly allocated refugee camp areas, near Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Groups of Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar were on the move again Tuesday and Wednesday, forced by the rains to salvage what was left of their shanties and move toward drier ground in hopes of some relief — if the mudslides don't come next.

Several Rohingya camps in this Bangladesh coastal city are flooded from three days of unrelenting downpours. People in the camps were pelted with heavy rain while desperately packing their meager belongings into plastic sacks and trying to find fresh shelter.

Burmese refugee Sona Mahar in tears while talking about her family members in Myanmar, living in Karachi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

A newly arrived Rohingya family walks towards Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.  (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

An elderly Rohingya woman, who has crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, arrives at Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

The initial arrivals in the most recent exodus from violence in Myanmar simply settled on whatever patch of land they could find, building shelters of bamboo sticks and plastic sheets.

But as their numbers soared to more than 420,000 in a matter of weeks, the local government has started moving them to newly allocated refugee camp areas. Many refused to move, terrified of being without shelter at all. But the rains washed away many shanties or made them uninhabitable.

Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, wait for their turn to collect aid near Balukhali refugee camp, near Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A Rohingya Muslim woman Mustafa Begum waits for help to transport her sick son Mohammad Riyazullaha to a nearby clinic in Taiy Khali, Bangladesh. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

So they're moving again. Most of them are being sent to the new settlement of Balukhali in Cox's Bazar.

If the rain doesn't ease soon, the flimsy homes may become useless at best and dangerous at worst. The area is prone to mudslides during the seasonal monsoon that have already proven deadly this year.

For Abul Bashar, that concern will come later, if at all. For now, he needs to shelter his family of 12 from the rain.

Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, stretch their arms out to receive packets of biscuits thrown at them as handouts near Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A Rohingya Muslim woman Parveen Akhtar carries her sister Rashida and waits for aid to arrive at Taiy Khali refugee camp, Bangladesh. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over recently from Myanmar into Bangladesh, stand in a queue to receive food being distributed near Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

They were made to pull up the shelters they had first built on an open field. Now they've moved to Balukhali.

But like all crises, the Rohingya exodus is an opportunity for exploitation and a camp mafia is taking advantage.

Bashar doesn't have the 2,000 taka ($24) to pay them to set up a shelter in this camp.

The family slept in the tent of an acquaintance, but things are tight for everyone, and Bashar says he must find a shelter of his own soon.

He has plastic sheets and bamboo sticks. Just no money to buy a spot.

Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over recently from Myanmar into Bangladesh, carry their belongings and leave their flooded camp for alternate shelter near Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.  (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over recently from Myanmar into Bangladesh, cross a flooded area to find alternate shelter after their camp was inundated with rainwater near Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

In the vast open ground where the new refugees had built their first shelters now lie piles of things they simply stuff into bags and carry to their new homes.

Not too far away, in the area where all the shelters were almost submerged, some refugees stood near bundles of their belongings unsure of what to do next.

Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, use a makeshift footbridge as they move with their belongings after their camp was inundated with rainwater near Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.  (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

"We made a shelter here and now it's washed away and I don't know what to do now," said Mohammad Isaq, 50.

"I haven't eaten properly in three days. I'm too weak to take all our belongings to another place."

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani province has issued a flood alert due to glacial melting and warned of heavy loss of life, officials said Saturday.

The country has witnessed days of extreme weather, killing scores of people and destroying property and farmland. Experts say Pakistan is experiencing heavier rains than normal in April because of climate change.

In the mountainous northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has been hit particularly hard by the deluges, authorities issued a flood alert because of the melting of glaciers in several districts.

They said the flood could worsen and that people should move to safer locations ahead of any danger.

“If timely safety measures are not taken, there is a possibility of heavy loss of life and property due to the expected flood situation,” said Muhammad Qaiser Khan, from the local disaster management authority.

Latest figures from the province said that 46 people, including 25 children, have died in the past five days due to rain-related incidents.

At least 2,875 houses and 26 schools have either collapsed or been damaged.

The southwest province of Baluchistan has also been battered by rainfall. It said it had limited resources to deal with the current situation but if the rains continued, it would look to the central government for help.

In 2022, downpours swelled rivers and at one point inundated one-third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused $30 billion in damage.

Pakistan's monsoon season starts in June.

People pass by a damaged electric pole caused by flooding due to heavy rains near Chaman area, Pakistan, Thursday, April 18 2024. Lightning and heavy rains led to 14 deaths in Pakistan, officials said Wednesday, bringing the death toll from four days of extreme weather to at least 63, as the heaviest downpour in decades flooded villages on the country's southwestern coast. Flash floods have also killed dozens of people in neighboring Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Habib Ullah)