Climate change keeps destroying my home. So I bought one I can move

Climate change in Bangladesh is no remote threat – it is a stark reality that is forcing millions from their homes. That is, unless their home itself can be quickly dismantled and moved. The South Asian country is on the front lines of the global climate crisis, with increasingly violent floods, cyclones, river erosion, and rising sea levels becoming a part of daily life. Following deadly flash floods that struck Bangladesh in July, Orato First-Person News spoke to one man who has found a temporary solution for his family of three – he simply disassembles his home and moves.

Piyas Biswas

3 months ago
July 27, 2026

10 min read

Climate

Mohammad Sumon Mridha stands with his wife, Hena Begum, and their 3-year-old son, Rabbi, in front of their movable wooden-and-tin home in Louhajang Upazila, Munshiganj, Bangladesh. After losing their land to repeated river erosion, the family now lives on rented land along the banks of the Padma River.

Journalist’s notes

Piyas Biswas, September 2026

Climate change hits home in Bangladesh

The low-lying country of Bangladesh sits along the Bay of Bengal and is dominated by the Ganges Delta, making it increasingly vulnerable to the violent floods, cyclones, river erosion, and rising sea levels caused by climate change.
The annual monsoon season brings heavy rains, which experts say are becoming more intense. Bangladesh’s coastal communities suffer from saltwater intrusion, making drinking water scarce and agricultural land less productive.
And the South Asian country is one of the most highly and densely populated countries in the world, meaning that climate change can cause drastic and abrupt disruptions that can impact millions of people at once.
It is a deadly combination that places Bangladesh on the front lines of the global climate crisis.
Heavy monsoon rains in July 2026 resulted in flash floods and landslides that affected 1.28 million people across the country. At least 59 people died and more than 75,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Fresh-water supplies were harmed, and more than 27,000 hectares of cropland was affected.
The crisis compounded an already dire situation, with the International Organization for Migration having recorded in 2025 that nearly 4.96 million people in Bangladesh were already internally displaced due to natural disasters.
And the problem is only going to get worse. The World Bank projects that rising temperatures will cause the Bay of Bengal to rise by 27 centimeters by 2050, and that one in seven Bangladeshis could be displaced by climate-related impacts by that time.
For millions, a home is no longer a permanent place. But a remarkable local solution has been developed to mean families’ homes can move with them in case of emergency.

The district of Munshiganj, located south of the national capital Dhaka, sits along the flood-prone and erosion-causing Padma River, the main distributary of the Ganges.

There, artisans and carpenters are building prefabricated wooden and tin houses designed to be dismantled, transported, and reassembled – offering a way for residents to quickly relocate when the river reclaims their land.

Unlike conventional concrete buildings, every component of these houses is built separately. Walls, roofs, doors, windows, floors, staircases, and structural frames are handcrafted in workshops before being assembled on-site. When necessary, each section can be carefully dismantled, loaded onto trucks or boats, transported to a new location, and reconstructed within two to four days.

Orato First-Person News spoke with one farmer who gave up the losing fight with climate change, and took his home on the road.

More About the Interview Subject

Mohammad Sumon Mridha, 30, lives on the banks of the Padma River with his wife and young son. Originally a fisherman by trade, he makes his living farming a small plot of rented land in Lohajang Upazila of the Munshiganj district, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of the capital.

His life has changed dramatically in recent years. Born and raised on Jhautya Char, a constantly shifting river island in the Padma, Sumon once raised cattle and cultivated rice and vegetables on his own land to support his family.

But forced to abandon one river island after another, he eventually dismantled his wooden-and-tin house and transported it by boat before the river could swallow it.

Today, he lives in a movable house that can be dismantled and relocated within a few hours whenever the river threatens again. Although he now lives on rented land, the house provides his family with a rare sense of security in an uncertain landscape. If the Padma erodes the land once more, they may lose the ground beneath their feet, but the family can at least take their home with them.

I was born and raised on Jhautya Char (a char is a sandy river island). Back then, it only cost five taka (U.S. $.04) to cross the river by boat. My father was a farmer, and when I grew up, I became a farmer, too. We had two houses, one a more traditional home, and in 2016 we bought one that is designed to be portable. Around them, we had many kinds of trees, including mango, jujube, and jackfruit.

During the monsoon season, flooding and river erosion were common on the char. One year – it was 2018 or 2019, I was still a teenager, it’s all a blur now – the river rose so quickly that even the jackfruit tree beside our houses collapsed.

The river erosion was very severe. We did believe our traditional home would survive that day, but the river had other plans. The riverbank collapsed, and it was washed away. My father and I were not prepared for it even as it had been raining heavily all day.

Around 2,000 families lived on that char.

Watching everything disappear is heartbreaking. Only someone who has experienced river erosion knows how painful it is.

A new char, and another battle with climate change

After the first char slipped into the river, my parents and I took our portable home and moved to the nearby Majhikandi Char, where we lived for about six or seven years. I married my wife while living there.

But that char wasn’t immune to floods and river erosion either, and last year we had to leave again.

When the rains first came and flooding was evident, we had built a platform attached to the roof of the house. We lived there and even cooked our meals there. We had to. The torrents had claimed our kitchen. We were hoping to ride it out.

But eventually the water inside our house reached as high as my neck. We had no choice but to take the house apart.

Once again, I had tried everything I could to stay, but once again, it was impossible. It brought me to tears.

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My wife, my parents, and I stood in neck-deep water and rain while disassembling the house and loading it onto a boat. We spent the whole day soaked. I was shivering from the cold. Some parts of the house, such as the side walls, were damaged, but we were able to repair them later.

After moving the house across the river, we could hardly sleep that night because, paradoxically, we were so exhausted.

I remember that, as we were dismantling our house, another one nearby was already collapsing into the river. I felt for that family. When river erosion begins, you simply don’t have the chance to help anyone else. At that moment, I had to choose whether to save my own house and belongings or help other people.

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Many houses were washed away that day. Even our tube well, the metal pipe bored into the ground that supplied us our water, disappeared into the river.

After losing my own land, I am now living on someone else’s. It is very difficult: Three families now share a very small plot of land, whereas on the char, a single family had much more space to call its own.

Still, we are in the same home. We were able to re-create our kitchen. This type of movable house is very useful. It is small and can be dismantled quickly. If five to seven people work together, they can take the whole house apart within two or three hours and move it somewhere else.

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My parents and I bought this house about 10 years ago for 50,000 taka ($406). We saw many of our neighbors buying this type of house, and that inspired us to buy one too. We are grateful for the investment.

Flooding changes the course of the river, and our lives

After the flooding last year, we rented a small piece of land and settled here during the Bengali month of Boishakh (April-May).

Our first night was very difficult. We managed somehow to place the roof over us and slept on the bare ground underneath. It rained throughout the night, and we got soaked.

Growing up, we knew that during Boishakh – its first day is our New Year’s Day – heavy rain, storms, and floods were common. We had lived with them since childhood. Now they seem more fierce and more common.

The flooding not only changes the course of the rivers, it changes our lives. I’ve traded working the land to working the river. Now I am a fisherman to support my family.

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Although it is not our land, it would still hurt if this place were washed away by the river, to have to move all over again. But losing our previous spot was even more painful because that land belonged to us. We farmed crops, raised cattle, and grew vegetables.

Now there is very little work. We struggle to survive. I worry about how I will be able to educate my son.

Despite the switch to fishing, even the catch is small. On a good day, I sell around 500 taka ($4.05) worth of fish, but some days I catch nothing at all. I earn only about 10,000 to 12,000 taka ($81.05 to $97.26) a month.

Mohammad Sumon Mridha poses for a portrait with his wife, Hena Begum, and their son on the banks of the Padma River in Louhajang Upazila, Munshiganj, Bangladesh.

For families like ours who do not own land, this movable house is a great advantage. We have rented this plot for three years. If, after those three years, the landowner asks us to leave, we can dismantle our house and move it somewhere else to start yet again.

That, at least, would be a more understandable kind of eviction than the one climate change forces upon us.

FAQs:

Why is Bangladesh particularly hard-hit by climate change?

Bangladesh is a low-lying country along the Bay of Bengal that is dominated by the Ganges Delta. Rising sea levels make it vulnerable to flooding and saltwater intrusion, adding to the complications caused by the annual monsoon season and cyclones that bring heavy rains.

How many people are affected by climate change in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh has a population of more than 175 million people, making it one of the world’s most populated countries. Climate change affects everyone, but nearly 4.96 million people are internally displaced due to natural hazards, according to the Internal Organization for Migration.

Why would people in Bangladesh choose to live in portable homes?

For many of those whose lives are frequently uprooted by climate change in Bangladesh, living in a portable home is a practical option that simply makes moving quick and easy.

How do these portable homes work?

The homes are made to be assembled and disassembled quickly and easily, with walls, roofs, and floors built separately in pieces. When necessary, each section can be carefully dismantled, loaded onto trucks or boats, transported to a new location, and reconstructed within two to four days.