2023-05-12 10:16:57
A tropical cyclone is intensifying in the Bay of Bengal on its way to lashing western Myanmar and the city of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where regarding a million people live in flimsy shelters, in what is the world’s largest refugee camp.
And “Mocha” is the first cyclone to form in the Gulf this year, and it is expected to increase in strength before it makes landfall, Sunday, most likely in Rakhine State, western Myanmar, near the border with Bangladesh.
Authorities in Myanmar and Bangladesh prepared to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people on Friday, while residents were advised to stay away from coastal areas as the powerful cyclone moved into the Bay of Bengal.
But there are concerns regarding the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled violence in Myanmar in 2017, many of whom live in bamboo and canvas shelters on mountain slopes exposed to strong winds and possible landslides.
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By the numbers
• The Indian Meteorological Department said that the cyclone is expected to reach Sunday with winds of 160 kilometers per hour.
• Wind speeds reach 175 kilometers per hour between Kyawkpyo in Myanmar and Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
• Bangladesh is a delta state with a population of more than 160 million people, which is prone to natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes.
• Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Shaheen Imran said the evacuation of nearly 500,000 people is expected to begin on Saturday, with 576 shelters ready for those who have moved from their homes along the coast.
• Chief Scientist, Indian Meteorological Department Rajendra Kumar Jinamani, said: “This is the first cyclone system in the northern Indian Ocean this year. The cyclone is severe and is likely to affect millions of fishermen and coastal communities in Myanmar and Bangladesh.”
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit the Ayeyarwaddy district in southwestern Myanmar with a storm wave that devastated populated areas around the Ayeyarwady River delta, killing at least 138,000 people and sweeping away tens of thousands of homes and other buildings.
Myanmar authorities have warned of possible floods and landslides in coastal areas, where residents have stocked up on essential supplies, said Hla Tun, director of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.
Friday’s edition of the government’s “Global New Light of Myanmar” newspaper carried reports regarding the emergency departments’ preparations in various parts of the country. According to these reports, thousands of people living in towns along the western coast of Rakhine state are being evacuated, where the cyclone is expected to pass.
In Bangladesh, control rooms in cyclone-prone areas were ready to provide emergency support, and Imran said three ports were put on alert.
He said the government has already allocated dry food, rice and money, and has organized thousands of volunteers for relief work under the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.
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