DHAKA, Bangladesh. Thousands sought refuge in monasteries, pagodas, and schools as Cyclone Mocha battered the coast of Myanmar, causing severe damage and claiming at least three lives. The cyclone made landfall in Myanmar’s Rakhine state near Sittwe township on Sunday afternoon, with wind speeds reaching up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour, according to Myanmar’s Meteorological Department. Prior to reaching Myanmar, the storm passed over Bangladesh’s Saint Martin’s Island, causing injuries and damage but veered away from the country’s shores before making landfall.
As night fell, the extent of the damage in Sittwe remained uncertain. Earlier in the day, high winds toppled cell phone towers, resulting in communication disruptions across the area. Videos captured before the communication cutoff showed streets inundated with water and trees being lashed by strong winds, tearing off rooftops.
Reports from Rakhine-based media indicated that streets were flooded, trapping residents in low-lying areas, while concerned relatives outside the township appealed for rescue. Myanmar’s military information office stated that the storm damaged houses, electrical transformers, cell phone towers, boats, and lampposts in Sittwe, Kyaukpyu, and Gwa townships. Additionally, sports buildings on Coco Islands, located about 425 kilometers (264 miles) southwest of Yangon, suffered roof damage.
Over 4,000 residents, out of Sittwe’s population of 300,000, were evacuated to other cities. More than 20,000 people sought shelter in sturdy structures such as monasteries, pagodas, and schools situated in elevated areas of the city, according to Tin Nyein Oo, a volunteer in Sittwe’s shelters. However, the influx of people exceeded expectations, leading to insufficient food supplies in the shelters, as noted by Lin Lin, the chairman of a local charitable foundation.
Titon Mitra, the U.N. Development Program representative in Myanmar, expressed concerns about the situation, tweeting: “Mocha has made landfall. 2m people at risk. Damage and losses are expected to be extensive. We are ready to respond and will need unhindered access to all affected communities.” Myanmar state television reported that the military government was preparing to dispatch food, medicine, and medical personnel to the affected areas. After striking Rakhine, the cyclone weakened and was predicted to hit the northwestern state of Chin and central regions on Monday.
In Myanmar, several fatalities resulting from wind and rain were reported on Sunday. A rescue team from the eastern Shan state announced on Facebook that they had recovered the bodies of a couple who were buried in a landslide triggered by heavy rain in Tachileik township. Local media also reported a man’s death in Pyin Oo Lwin township in the central Mandalay region when a banyan tree fell on him.
Authorities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, previously in the predicted path of the storm, had evacuated hundreds of thousands of people. However, by early afternoon, it appeared that the country would mostly escape the storm as it veered eastward, stated Azizur Rahman, director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department in Dhaka. He reassured reporters that the level of risk had significantly reduced in Bangladesh.
Although strong winds and rain persisted in Saint Martin’s Island in the Bay of Bengal, feared tidal surges did not occur due to the cyclone crossing the Bangladesh coast at low tide, according to Dhaka-based Jamuna TV station. Around a dozen islanders were injured, and approximately 300 homes were either destroyed or damaged, as reported by Bengali-language daily Prothom Alo.
