Cyclone Mocha Bangladesh evacuates half a million people as 'very dangerous' Cyclone Mocha threatens Rohingya refugee camp
Dhaka/IBNS: Bangladesh authorities have launched a massive evacuation campaign to move almost half a million people away from the southeastern coastline as Cyclone Mocha, one of the most powerful cyclones seen in Bangladesh in almost two decades, is expected to make landfall in the country.
The Rohingya refugee camp, the world's largest, is also at risk. The cyclone is predicted to barrel towards the Bangladesh-Myanmar border on Sunday. "Cyclone 'Mocha' is coming, reported ANI.
We have kept the cyclone centres and taken all types of preparations to tackle it," Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said.
Bangladesh's Met Office has advised the maritime port of Cox's Bazar to hoist danger signal no 10 as Cyclone Mocha is likely to intensify further and move in a north-north-westerly direction.
Meteorologists predict the storm's path will affect Bangladesh's southeastern border district of Cox's Bazar where over a million Rohingya refugees live.
Authorities have set up 55 shelters at Bhasan Char offshore island, where nearly 30,000 Rohingya refugees have been relocated from the mainland.
The district administration has also turned social, educational, and religious institutions into makeshift shelters, alongside 576 designated cyclone shelters in Cox's Bazar, to accommodate over half a million people, said Muhammad Shahin Imran, the deputy commissioner or administrative chief of the coastal district.
Around 8,600 Red Crescent volunteers have joined a campaign asking people to relocate, even as the district administration has mobilised transports to carry them to shelters.
The cyclone, with winds of up to 175 kilometres per hour, could cause tidal surges from 8 to 12 feet beyond the normal tide, warns Bangladesh's Met Office.
"This cyclone (Mocha) is the most powerful storm since Cyclone Sidr of 2007," says chief meteorologist Azizur Rahman.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) on Friday feared a storm surge of 2-2.5 metres over the weekend that was likely to inundate low-lying areas of North Myanmar as well as parts of Bangladesh where flash floods and landslides were also possible.
"It's a very dangerous cyclone and is associated with violent winds. There will be major impacts both ahead and after landfall for potentially hundreds of thousands of the world's most vulnerable people," warns WMO spokesman Clare Nullis.
Meanwhile, thousands have been relocated from Saint Martin Island, situated about 9 km south of the tip of Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula. Junior minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman says six districts stretching along the southern coastlines could witness severe tidal surges.
Preparations are underway for a partial evacuation of the Rohingya refugee camp if needed, says UN refugee agency spokesperson Olga Sarrado. The agency is also preparing tens of thousands of hot meals and jerrycans.
The Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has halted supplying LNG from two floating terminals in Cox's Bazar. The Chattogram port has been put on the highest alert, and Sunday's exams at the National University have been postponed.
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