- Written by Rajini Vaidyanathan
- BBC News, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
Video: Telecom towers collapse as storms hit Bangladesh and Myanmar
A powerful cyclone is hitting the coastlines of Bangladesh and Myanmar after intensifying to levels comparable to Category 5 storms.
Cyclone Mocha is bringing downpours and winds of up to 195 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour), potentially causing dangerous flooding on land around the Bay of Bengal.
Storm surges of up to four meters can flood low-lying villages.
There were fears of damage to the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, home to nearly one million people.
Meteorologists have warned that Cyclone Moka could become Bangladesh’s most powerful storm in nearly two decades. About 500,000 people have fled to safer areas.
Heavy rains and tailwinds hit the area as the storm moved to the coast, with reports of escalating turmoil near Sittwe city in Myanmar from around 13:00 (07:00 Japan time).
Electricity and Wi-Fi connectivity were cut in many parts of Sittwe region, and video footage showed the tide rising sharply and washing debris into flooded roads.
As the cyclone approached, the communication tower collapsed due to strong winds. Videos shared on social media also showed roofs being blown off and billboards flying from buildings in Yangon during heavy rains.
Images from the city of Mrauk-U showed palm trees bent by the wind, metal roof sheets swept onto the street, and several people rushing to shelter from the rain.
Local media reported that a 14-year-old boy had died in Myanmar’s Rakhine state after falling trees, and there were reports of buildings being damaged or collapsed across the country.
Strong winds began to blow with heavy rain in Bangladesh. In Cox’s Bazar, the streets were empty, trees swayed in the wind, and the sky darkened as the storm began to intensify.
Families with young children crammed into makeshift cyclone shelters
Evacuees from one cyclone shelter told the BBC they were worried about food shortages.
The BBC saw mothers with babies, toddlers and the infirm crammed into a Cox’s Bazar school being used as a temporary cyclone shelter.
As the wind picked up, the trees outside shook violently, and people inside feared the impact of the cyclone on their homes.
Peanut vendor Mohammed Heron Mia came to sell his goods, saying, “There is no food here. People bring very little, so I thought I would sell peanuts.”
Even as he worked, he felt fear. Looking at the rain, he said, “I’m worried that my house will collapse.”
Maximum sustained wind speeds within 75 kilometers (45 miles) of the cyclone’s center were around 195 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour), with gusts and squalls reaching 215 kilometers per hour, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
Dr MM Malik, a meteorologist at the Government Storm Warning Center in Dhaka, told the BBC that the cyclone was 520km in diameter, meaning it would take time to fully cross the coastline.
Nearby airports have been closed in preparation for the oncoming storm, fishermen have been ordered to suspend their work and 1,500 shelters have been set up for people in vulnerable areas to move to safer places.
Cyclone Mocha was predicted to bring heavy rains and possibly cause landslides. It poses a serious danger to those living in hillside camps where landslides are common.
Particular concern was expressed for the large number of Rohingya refugees and people on the west coast of Myanmar living in temporary housing in camps in Cox’s Bazar.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator AI Ramanathan Balakrishnan said, “A cyclone hitting an area where humanitarian needs are already so severe is a nightmare scenario, with the number of coping capacities severely compromised by successive crises. It affects 100,000 vulnerable people.”
The impact of climate change on storm frequency is not yet clear, but we know that rising sea surface temperatures warm the air above, increasing the energy available to trigger hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons.
As a result, more extreme rainfall can lead to more intense rainfall.
Global temperatures have already warmed about 1.1°C since the industrial age began, and will continue to rise unless governments around the world cut emissions significantly.
