Volunteers help people evacuate as Cyclone Mocha crosses the coastal Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, May 14, 2023. (Xinhua)
Extremely dangerous cyclone Mocha began crossing the Bangladesh and Myanmar coasts on Sunday, ripping away tin roofs and uprooting trees in countless townships, which is said to be the strongest to hit the region in recent years.
YANGON/DHAKA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Extremely severe cyclonic storm Mocha rippled through Bangladesh and Myanmar on Sunday, leaving a trail of heavy destruction in the cyclone-stricken areas, according to local weather agencies.
Local authorities in Myanmar said that their emergency response teams were in cooperation with local rescue teams conducting rescue operations in the cyclone-hit areas.
They said that they have deployed 10 emergency rescue teams and 112 vehicles carrying food, drinking water and rescue equipment in Rakhine State, and its nearest regions and states on Saturday.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Rakhine State were already evacuated ahead of the cyclone, local media reported.
The extremely severe cyclonic storm moving northwards and northeastwards is forecast to hit Chin State and Magway Region late Sunday, according to the weather bureau.
The cyclone Mocha that hit the coastlines of Bangladesh and Myanmar on Sunday with winds of up to 130 mph (about 209 kph) ripped away tin roofs and uprooted trees in the townships in Rakhine State.
The tropical cyclone with strong winds and intense rains damaged buildings in the townships of Sittwe, Thandwe, Gwa, Kyaukphyu and Cocokyun in Myanmar, local media reported.
People evacuate as Cyclone Mocha crosses the coastal Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, May 14, 2023. (Xinhua)
A 30-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree during the cyclone in Rakhine State, a witness posted on social media on Sunday.
Electricity and Internet connections were disrupted in many parts of Sittwe, the capital city of Rakhine State, on Sunday afternoon, following the collapse of a telecom tower in Sittwe. The telecom tower was brought down by strong winds, video footage showed.
A building in Thandwe airport in Rakhine State collapsed because of the cyclone. Streets in Sittwe were also flooded and the floors of many buildings were inundated, local media reported.
The weather bureau warned of heavy rains across the Southeast Asian country in the next 24 hours due to cyclone Mocha.
The two towns of Chauk and Sinphyukyun in central Myanmar's Magway Region also experienced the heaviest single-day rainfalls in 55 years and 50 years, respectively, on Sunday, according to the weather agency.
"The rainfalls are very high because of the storm," U Hla Tun, director of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, told Xinhua on Sunday.
People were urged to be aware of heavy rains, landslides and storm surge, the weather agency said.
Volunteers help communities to withhold cyclone Mocha in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on May 14, 2023. (Xinhua)
All the fishing boats, trawlers and maritime vessels were already advised to remain in shelter till further notice, it said.
Cyclone Mocha came after towns in Myanmar experienced record-high temperatures amid a scorching heatwave in the past few days.
The extremely severe cyclone, which is the first to form in the Bay of Bengal this year, is said to be the strongest to hit the region in recent years.
In Bangladesh, Cox's Bazar district's deputy commissioner and district magistrate Shaheen Imran told Xinhua that the cyclone damaged houses and crops, and uprooted trees.
According to the official, "at least 12,000 houses were destroyed fully or partially in the cyclone in Cox's Bazar."
He further said they are collecting information through official channels from the affected remote areas on the loss of life and damage to property.
Volunteers help communities to withhold cyclone Mocha in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on May 14, 2023. (Xinhua)
Also, hundreds of makeshift shelters were damaged in camps of Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district housing nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
Officials said there was no report of cyclone casualties in the affected areas.
Bangladeshi State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman told journalists that they have taken adequate measures to support the affected people in Cox's Bazar district where hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated.
The coastal district of Cox's Bazar and its offshore islands including Saint Martin's Island came under Great Danger Signal 10.
Md Azizur Rahman, director at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, said the wind speed in St. Martin's Island reached a maximum of 147 km per hour at 2:00 p.m. local time Sunday.
TV footage showed widespread flooding in the Saint Martin's Island of coastal Cox's Bazar district, some 300 km southeast of capital Dhaka, where thousands of people have been evacuated.
Mocha has begun crossing the last borders of the country, with half of it directed toward Myanmar and the other half towards Bangladesh.
The devastating cyclone made landfall between Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar and Myanmar's Sittwe packing winds of up to 195 km per hour, said Rahman.
He said Mocha has already weakened and was being gradually reduced to a depression.
Fishing boats, trawlers and maritime vessels over the bay have been advised to remain in shelter till further notice. ■
