Bangladesh — Camp 11 Fire Incident Situational Assessment: Rohingya Refugee Response, Cox’s Bazar (September 2023)

The massive fire that swept through Camp 11 on March 5, 2023, affecting over 16,000 Rohingya refugees, severely damaged certain areas of the world’s largest refugee camps. Of these, 5,000 Rohingya refugees were temporarily displaced and moved to nearby camps. The fire destroyed 2,165 shelters and affected many refugees who were left with nothing. Three blocks were affected with Block D having the most affected households (1,278). IOM in close coordination with local authorities and the fire brigade immediately dispatched the response teams right away to help the refugees and control the situation. IOM redirected efforts to assist those affected by the fire through rapid deployment of staff, and resources, and uninterrupted presence in the camps.

Moreover, IOM’s Needs and Population Monitoring team conducted Initial Rapid Needs Assessment1 within 24 hours to provide immediate response and In-depth Rapid Needs Assessment2 within 48 hours to support effective decision-making processes in meeting the needs of the affected population.

In addition, three months after the incident in June 2023 NPM conducted the household-level situational assessment3 in order to assess and provide an overview of the current situation and humanitarian services and gaps, as well as to understand the driver and severity of needs of the affected population from each sector’s perspectives and to know the sufficiency and effectiveness of the assistance provided to the affected households. Currently, six months after the fire incident, NPM carried out another situational assessment with similar objectives, including identifying any change to access various services and assistance they have been receiving since the fire incident. This report presents the overall findings of the second-round situation assessment.