FEARS FOR REFUGEES AS MOCHA MAKES LANDFALL
▶ Deadly cyclone hits Myanmar and Bangladesh as thousands flee homes
Thousands of people took shelter in monasteries and schools yesterday as Cyclone Mocha struck the coasts of Myanmar and Bangladesh.
At least three were killed as the storm made landfall with winds of up to 209kph.
It tore the roofs from buildings and brought heavy rain to a region that is home to about 1.2 million Rohingya refugees.
Mocha hit the coast between Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and Sittwe in Myanmar, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said.
More than 4,000 of Sittwe’s 300,000 population fled to other cities before the storm hit.
Thousands left on Saturday in lorries, cars and tuk-tuks after meteorologists warned of a storm surge of up to 3.5 metres.
More than 20,000 have stayed behind and yesterday sought shelter in monasteries, pagodas and schools, said Tin Nyein Oo, a volunteer in the city.
“There are too many people in the shelters and not enough toilets,” he told AP.
Junta authorities in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine published images of what they said were fallen trees blocking a road near Sittwe.
Heavy rain and strong winds were reported yesterday in the country’s commercial centre of Yangon.
The Myanmar Red Cross Society said it was “preparing for a major emergency response” to the storm.
There were also fears for the Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar, where refugee camps largely consist of flimsy shelters.
Mocha is the most powerful storm to hit Bangladesh since Cyclone Sidr in 2007, Azizur Rahman, director of the country’s Meteorological Department, told AFP.
Sidr killed more than 3,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage.
“My house is shaking as though it will fall any time,” said Mohammed Ali, 31, a resident of the Nayapara refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar.
“They are so flimsy as it is made of bamboo and will collapse any time.
“My children are scared but we have nowhere to go.”
Cyclone Mocha tore through the world’s biggest refugee camp in Bangladesh yesterday, sweeping away the flimsy structures that provide shelter for 1.2 million Rohingya.
The storm left at least three dead in Myanmar as 209kph winds uprooted trees and destroyed more than 500 shelters in Cox’s Bazar.
Panic gripped the camp from the moment the rain started yesterday morning.
Pictures and videos shared by refugees on social media showed makeshift shelters collapsing under strong winds and tarpaulin and bamboo roofs being blown away.
“My house is shaking as though it will fall any time,” Mohammed Ali, 31, of the Nayapara refugee camp, told The National.
“They are so flimsy as it is made of bamboo and will collapse any time.
“My children are scared but we have nowhere to go.”
Rohingya refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar in 2017 are not allowed to build permanent structures.
The Bangladeshi government also does not allow them to leave the camps.
Though Myanmar and Bangladesh relocated thousands of families from low-lying areas before the storm, there are no cyclone shelters in Cox’s Bazar.
Many people took refuge in schools, learning centres and women’s shelters run by international agencies.
Jameela, 23, a mother of two, said she had taken shelter in a school near her camp in Bangladesh’s Teknaf area, to stay safe from the storm.
“We are staying in a school and it is packed with families,” she told The National.
“My house is not liveable any more. The roof blew away and it is badly damaged.
“I don’t know for how long we have to live here. I am just relieved that we are getting food and water for the kids.”
Alom Bin Nur, a Rohingya from the Balukhali camp, told The National he and his family moved into a neighbour’s house after the roof of their shelter collapsed.
“They are a local family and we have to stay the night with them to protect us from the rain and storm,” he said.
“But now the wind has reduced, we are back in the shelter and have started cleaning and some repairing work.”
Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s refugee, relief and repatriation commissioner, told The National the initial effect of the cyclone was “not as bad as expected”.
“But the rain and the wind speed impacted the refugee settlements. Our initial estimation is that 500-plus shelters have been damaged,” the official said.
Officials fear the aftermath of the cyclone will lead to a deluge of rain that will cause flooding and landslides.
“We are hoping that the rain will subside,” said Mr Rahman. “Then we are looking at a much better situation. We expect that people can return to their homes within two days.”
As the storm began, camp leaders and trained Rohingya volunteers from the Disaster Management Unit sprang into action to help rebuild shelters and distribute food, medicine and other emergency aid to affected communities.
A camp leader at the Kutupalong refugee site told The National that several shelters had been crushed under uprooted trees.
“Our camp is surrounded by big trees, many of which got uprooted in the wind,” he said. “Maximum damage so far is caused by falling trees. We have relocated some very small number of families to the learning centre for their safety.”
The UN High Commission for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration and Bangladeshi government agencies put together an emergency response plan.
Johannes Van Der Klaauw, UNHCR spokesman in Bangladesh, said his agency and local authorities were responding to urgent needs. Emergency shelter materials and enough food for 50,000 daily meals was available if needed, he said.