Mizzima
Extremely Severe Cyclone Mocha continues to intensify in the Bay of Bengal and will likely cross the coast between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu township, Myanmar’s Rakhine State during the afternoon of Sunday 14 May, ReliefWeb reports on UN OCHA monitoring.
Heavy rain and strong winds associated with the cyclone are expected to cause flooding across Rakhine, where many townships and displacement sites are in low-lying areas and highly prone to flooding. Winds could hit 200-240 kph or 130-150 mph.
Many communities are already moving to higher ground to designated evacuation centers or to safer areas staying with relatives.
Humanitarian organizations are gearing up for a large-scale emergency response at the national level, as well as in Rakhine and the Northwest (Chin, Mayway, Sagaing), pending timely and unhindered access. Advocacy on access and supply importation issues is underway.
NGOs have been preparing. Refresher training sessions have been conducted on Rapid Needs Assessments to over 400 humanitarian actors across Rakhine and the Northwest in the past two days to ensure a coordinated response.
An urgent injection of funds is desperately needed to facilitate a full-scale response to the impacts of the cyclone and any subsequent flooding. To date, the US$764M Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is only 10 per cent funded
As of 13 May, Cyclone Mocha has moved further north-northeastwards over the Bay of Bengal and intensified to an extremely severe cyclone. It is very likely to move further north-northeastwards and intensify further over the east-central Bay of Bengal. It is forecast to cross the coast between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu township in Myanmar around noon on 14 May.
The cyclone is expected to land with a maximum sustained wind speed of 170-180 kmph, gusting to over 200 kmph. Thereafter it is expected to continue further north-northeastwards towards Chin and Sagaing in Myanmar which are at high risk from landslides. Flood warnings are being issued in many areas across all townships in Rakhine with storm surge as high as 3 meters.
After the local authorities issued evacuation advice for low-lying and coastal areas in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Myebon,
Pauktaw, and Sittwe townships in Rakhine, more than 100,000 people, including some displaced people, moved to designated evacuation shelters by 13 May. Many others have moved to stay with relatives on higher ground. In the Northwest, as of 13 May several buildings, including monasteries, schools, and religious sites were designated as evacuation centers by local authorities in light of the expected impact of cyclone Mocha in Chin, Magway and Sagaing.
“For the past two days, we have seen many families leaving the low-lying areas of Sittwe town in tuk-tuks and small trucks moving to safer places. They are seeking safety inland in other townships or in the designated evacuation sites in Sittwe town. During our visit to one of the monasteries in town today, we met with families who already moved to the monastery. They moved with limited belongings and dry food for a few nights,” shared one of the OCHA field team members in Sittwe.
OCHA is following up with the local authorities to ensure all communities are relocated before the cyclone makes landfall. Flights to Rakhine were already cancelled and Sittwe airport is now closed.
