CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AFP) - At least 16 people were killed and more than 20,000 marooned as heavy rains over the past week triggered landslides and floods in southeast Bangladesh, an official said Monday.

Three landslides caused by torrential monsoon rains killed 10 people while six others drowned in swirling flood waters in southeastern Cox's Bazar district, said chief administrator Sajjadul Hasan.

"Low-lying areas in the districts have gone under four-five feet (1.3-1.7 metres) flood water, stranding over 20,000 people," Hasan said.

Several rivers in the southeastern hill districts burst their banks and caused the floods, officials said.

Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by over 200 rivers, was hit by a major floods last year, when water fed by melting glaciers in the Himalayas and heavy rains inundated more than 40 percent of the land.

More than a thousand people were killed in the floods, which left millions of people homeless and damaged infrastructure and property worth over a billion dollars.

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