Cyclone Mocha hit the Bangladesh-Myanmar border on Sunday, causing destruction and pouring heavy rain on the region. The cyclone poses a threat to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who live in flimsy shelters in the Cox’s Bazar area. The storm’s gusts are reaching up to 195 kilometers per hour, which is equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Mohammad Sayed, a resident of the Nayapara refugee camp, expressed his fear that the bamboo and tarpaulin houses that make up the camp can easily be blown away by the wind. Cyclone shelters, such as schools, are also not strong enough to withstand the winds of a cyclone.
Residents in Sittwe left their homes in search of higher ground after a 3.5-meter storm surge warning was issued. However, many of them did not bring food and other essentials with them, and they rely on donations from others. The Bangladeshi government relocated around 100,000 people from Chittagong and 190,000 from Cox’s Bazar to safety on Saturday night. Myanmar Airways International suspended all flights to Rakhine state until Monday.
Azizur Rahman, the head of Bangladesh’s meteorological department, stated that Cyclone Mocha is the strongest storm to hit Bangladesh since Cyclone Sidr in November 2007, which killed over 3,000 people and caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Both Myanmar and Bangladesh authorities are on high alert and preparing for an emergency response.
Heavy rain caused by the cyclone could trigger landslides, which poses a significant risk to people in the area.
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