Deadly Cyclone Hits Bangladesh, Myanmar

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

DHAKA (Worthy News) – A deadly cyclone hit the coastlines of Bangladesh and Myanmar, impacting millions of people, including those living in the world’s largest refugee camp.

Cyclone Mocha brought heavy rain and strong winds, leaving residents in low-lying coastal areas fearful they may lose their homes in the impoverished nations.

At least five people have been reported dead in Myanmar, but the casualty numbers in Bangladesh were unclear.

In Bangladesh, more than 1,300 bamboo shelters were destroyed in Cox’s Bazar, where about one million Rohingya refugees live in the largest refugee camp, according to reporters and authorities.

The Rohingya were denied citizenship in Myanmar, making them the world’s largest stateless population, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.

Sunday’s storm added to hardship for the refugees, most of whom arrived here in 2017 after fleeing reported persecution, large-scale violence, and other human rights violations.

As the storm approached, police patrolled the coastline in the town of Cox’s Bazar carrying loudspeakers, urging people to stay indoors, witnesses said.

STREETS EMPTIED

The streets emptied as the cyclone intensified – the skies darkened, the winds picked up the pace, and the rains pounded down.

Hundreds of people were crammed into a school in the city which had been turned into a temporary cyclone shelter.

Mothers with babies, young children, the elderly, and the frail packed into any available classroom space, sleeping on desks and sitting under them, reporters said.

Mocha made landfall between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Myanmar’s Sittwe, packing winds of up to 195 kilometers (120 miles) per hour, the most giant storm to hit the Bay of Bengal in over a decade.

By late Sunday, the storm had passed mainly, and India’s weather office said it would weaken as it hit the rugged hills of Myanmar’s interior.

There is discussion among scientists and other experts about whether climate change plays a role in the cyclones seen in Bangladesh and other nations.

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