Cyclone Mocha floods homes, cuts communications in western Myanmar; six dead

Rescuers on Monday evacuated about 1000 people trapped by seawater 36 meters 12 feet deep along western Myanmars coast after a powerful cyclone injured hundreds and cut off communicationsSix deaths were reported but the true impact was not yet clear in one of Asias least developed countries Strong winds injured more than 700 of about 20000 people who were sheltering in sturdier buildings on the highlands of Sittwe township such as monasteries pagodas and schools according to a leader of the Rakhine Youths Philanthropic Association in SittweHe asked not to be named due to fear of reprisals from the authorities in the militaryrun country Seawater raced into more than 10 lowlying wards near the shore as Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Rakhine state Sunday afternoon he said Residents moved to roofs and higher floors while the wind and storm surge prevented immediate rescueAfter 4 pm yesterday the storm weakened a bit but the water did not fall back Most of them sat on the roof and at the high places of their houses the whole night The wind blew all night the rescue group leader said Water was still about 15 meters 5 feet high in flooded areas later Monday but rescues were being made as the wind calmed and the sun rose in the sky He asked civil society organisations and authorities to send aid and help evacuate residentsSix deaths were reported by Myanmar media and rescue groups Several injuries were reported in neighbouring Bangladesh which was spared the predicted direct hitMocha made landfall near Sittwe township with winds blowing up to 209 kilometers 130 miles per hour Myanmars Meteorological Department said By midday Monday it had weakened to a tropical depression according to the India Meteorological Department The State Administration Council issued disaster declarations for 17 townships in Rakhine stateAlso check In Photos Cyclone Mocha floods homes cuts communication in western MyanmarHigh winds crumpled cell phone towers but in videos collected by local media before communications were lost deep water raced through streets and wind blew off roofs Myanmars military information office said the storm had damaged houses and electrical transformers in Sittwe Kyaukpyu and Gwa townshipsIt said roofs were torn off buildings on the Coco Islands about 425 kilometers 264 miles southwest of the countrys largest city YangonVolunteers previously said shelters in Sittwe did not have enough food after more people arrived there seeking help Mocha largely spared the Bangladeshi city of Coxs Bazar which initially had been in the storms predicted path Authorities had evacuated hundreds of thousands of people before the cyclone veered eastA Bangladesh government official Enamur Rahman said the damage was still being assessed but that about 2000 homes had been destroyed and 10000 others were damaged on Saint Martins Island and Teknaf in Coxs Bazar districtHe said no deaths were reported About a dozen people were injured on Saint Martins Island the Prothom Alo newspaper reported UN agencies and aid workers in Bangladesh had prepositioned tons of dry food and dozens of ambulances in the refugee camps that house more than 1 million Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution in MyanmarIn May 2008 Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar with a storm surge that devastated populated areas around the Irrawaddy River delta At least 138000 people died and tens of thousands of homes and other buildings were washed away Roxy Mathew Koll a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune city said cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are becoming more intense more quickly in part because of climate changeClimate scientists say cyclones can now retain their energy for many days Cyclone Amphan in eastern India in 2020 continued to travel over land as a strong cyclone and caused extensive devastation As long as oceans are warm and winds are favourable cyclones will retain their intensity for a longer period Koll said Tropical cyclones which are called hurricanes or typhoons in other regions are among the worlds most devastating natural disasters when they hit densely populated coastal areasThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever