Thousands of Rohingya displaced in Bangladesh floods

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Thousands of Rohingya Muslims in southeastern Bangladesh have been displaced this week as heavy monsoon rains trigger landslides and flash floods in refugee camps across the region, UN officials said Friday.

Local officials said at least six Rohingya, including three children, have died, while 15 Bangladeshis have been killed and over 200,000 stranded by flooding in Cox's Bazar.

Many Rohingya refugees were still recovering from massive fires that tore through the camps in March.

Now their homes, most of them shacks made of bamboo and plastic sheets, have been swept away.

"When the water came into my house there was nobody from my family at home to help. I was alone but I could take my belongings to a safer place. Now I am living and staying with another family in the camp."

Nearly one million Rohingya live in crowded camps in the border district of Cox's Bazar, the world's largest refugee settlement, after fleeing a military crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar in 2017.

The U.N. Refugee Agency said more than 21,000 refugees have been "affected" by the flooding while nearly 4,000 shelters had been damaged or destroyed.

It said more than 13,000 were forced to relocate in the camps, while thousands of facilities like health clinics and toilets had also been damaged.

Access to the camps has been hindered due to damage to roads, pathways and bridges.

And the flooding is likely to get worse, as heavy rainfall is expected to continue over the next few days.