Four people were killed in landslides amid heavy monsoon rains in Akbar Shah area of Chattogram port city early Saturday. The deceased were identified as Shahinur, 32, Liton, 24, Imon, 14 and Mainul Akhter, 20. Wali Uddin Akbar, officer-in-charge of Akbar Shah Police Station big a chunk of mud from a hill demolished a house on the slope of the hill at Barishal Ghona around 1 am, leaving five people injured. Later, they were taken to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared Mainul and Shahinur dead. Besides, Imon and Liton died on the spot when a big  chunk of mud from an adjacent hill collapsed on their house around 3 am at Lakecity Bijoynagar area of the city. READ: Rain-fed landslides, flooding kill at least 19 in Brazil Heavy rains that started three days ago inundated many parts of the city. According to the Patenga Met office, 48.8 mms of rainfalls were recorded in the past 24 hours till 6 am on Saturday. The rains will continue till Saturday, it said. Local administration said the authorities concerned issued a warning on Friday and asked the residents living in the hill slope to vacate their places immediately. Moreover, nineteen shelters have been kept ready in different parts of the city including Agrabad, Bakolia, Kattoli and Chandgaon Circle to tackle the situation.

A couple of hours of downpour led to waterlogging in several parts of the port city on Saturday, making the lives of the residents miserable. Busy areas of the city, including No 2 Gate, Bahaddarhat, Muradpur, Chawkbazar and Khatunganj, and several low-lying areas like the Agrabad CDA residential area bore the brunt of the early morning rains.  Post-showers, many people were seen wading through ankle-deep water in these areas to reach their destination due to lack of public transport. Aggrieved residents claimed the showers once again shattered the tall claims of monsoon preparedness by the civic body. Md Kamal, a resident of the No 2 Gate area, said, “The showers began around 4am and after a couple of hours, the Mayorgoli was flooded due to poor drainage network." READ: Rains likely to lash Bangladesh

Just a couple of hours of downpour is enough to make the lives of those living along the Bhabdah beel in Jashore's Monirampur upazila miserable. But this year, the monsoon rains have been particularly unkind to the residents of the 80-plus villages along the beel. The root of the problem is a poor drainage network. With clogged drains and the onrush of hill water leading to massive waterlogging in these villages, hundreds of families have been rendered homeless. Read: How Jashore’s fisheries output grew in the midst of a pandemic Some of these families are now living in makeshift huts along the busy Manirampur-Nawapara road waiting for the floodwaters to recede. UNB recently visited three such villages -- Sujatpur, Bajekultia, Hatgacha -- as well as the Manirampur-Nawapara road to witness the plight of these displaced families. In the villages, we found affected residents wading through the squalid waters to reach their homes -- posing high public health risk to the entire region.