Cyclone Mocha | Cyclone Mokha death toll in Myanmar rises to 54

Bangkok: At least 54 people have died and over 1.85 lakh buildings have been heavily damaged as Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Myanmar last weekend. This information has been received from the news broadcast on the government television MRTV. However, reports said that the actual loss of life and property from Mokha to Myanmar is not known due to damage to communication infrastructure in the cyclone-affected areas and restrictions imposed by the military regime on the flow of information. Cyclone Mokha, which formed in the Bay of Bengal last Sunday, made landfall in Rakhine state of Bangladesh and western Myanmar, bringing strong winds and heavy rains in the region. Strong winds of about 209 kilometers per hour were blowing in the area due to the cyclone that hit near Sittwe township of Rakhine province. However, it weakened into a tropical cyclone on Monday while moving towards the interior of the country. Read also The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that houses and infrastructure have been destroyed on a large scale throughout Rakhine state. “The area is in urgent need of shelter, clean water, food aid and health care services,” she said. “There are growing concerns about the spread of waterborne diseases and landmines in flood-prone areas,” the UN office said. Rakhine state is the epicenter of decades of ethnic conflict in Myanmar. The UN office said, “The impact of the cyclone was also felt in the northwestern part of the country, where a large number of houses either collapsed or were washed away. Strong winds and rain also caused heavy damage to displaced persons’ camps in Kachin province.