A powerful cyclone hit southeastern Bangladesh and Myanmar on Sunday, causing flooding in the Burmese port city of Sittwe and several deaths in Myanmar. Cyclone Mocha was the most powerful storm to hit the region in over 15 years, with winds of up to 210 kilometers per hour (130 miles), equivalent to a category 5 hurricane.
The cyclone forced authorities to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people to shelters. It was expected to affect more than 2 million people in its direct path. The Bangladesh meteorological department reported that the storm was uprooting trees and bringing heavy rain along the coast at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. Parts of Sittwe were flooded, and the ground floors of several buildings were underwater.
More than 4,000 Sittwe residents were evacuated ahead of Mocha’s arrival, while more than 20,000 people were moved to shelters, including monasteries, pagodas, and schools. However, reports said that many of the shelters were damaged, and some were left without roofs.
An ethnic militia that controls swathes of Rakhine said a large number of structures in Sittwe and Kyauktaw had been damaged. Communication networks in Rakhine were also disrupted, according to the United Nations and local media.
A rescue team from Myanmar’s eastern Shan state announced on its Facebook social media page that they had recovered the bodies of a couple who were buried when a landslide hit their house in Tachileik township. Local media reported that a man was crushed to death when a banyan tree fell on him in Pyin Oo Lwin township in the central Mandalay Region.
In Bangladesh, authorities issued the highest danger alert for Cox’s Bazar, which is home to more than a million Rohingya refugees living in flimsy shelters. More than 300,000 people have been shifted to safer locations in Bangladesh, and over 1,500 cyclone shelters have been prepared. Aid workers have also stored tons of dry food and prepared dozens of ambulances for refugee camps.
“Saving lives is our main priority,” said local disaster relief official Mijanur Rahman. However, authorities also warned that heavy rains could trigger landslides and cause severe damage in eight coastal districts of Bangladesh. Earlier Sunday, the storm passed over Bangladesh’s Saint Martin’s Island, causing damage and injuring people.
