Rohingya refugees face cyclone crisis
Aid workers warned on Wednesday of an “acute crisis” in Bangladesh after a cyclone destroyed thousands of homes and devastated camps housing Rohingya refugees, leaving many without food or shelter.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya live in the overcrowded camps on the southeast coast after fleeing violence in neighbouring Myanmar.
Cyclone Mora battered the coastal area of Cox’s Bazar on Tuesday, killing six people, destroying 20,000 homes and forcing the evacuation of 600,000 residents.
India’s Navy said it had pulled 27 Bangladeshis from the water in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday during search and rescue operations following the cyclone.
Some of the worst damage was at the camps housing the 300,000 Rohingya, whose numbers swelled last year following a military crackdown on the stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar.
“There is an acute crisis of food, shelter, health services, water and sanitation facilities in the makeshift settlements following the storm,” said Sanjukta Sahany, local head of the International Organisation for Migration which coordinates relief in some of the camps.
“The drainage and toilet system have been fully broken,” she said.
Ms Sahany said the storm had destroyed or damaged at least 16,010 homes in the camps and also seriously damaged clinics run by aid agencies for the Rohingya and the local community.
Aid workers scrambled to get food to the camps, which house around 300,000 Rohingya, many of whom were observing the Ramadan fast when the cyclone struck.