Cyclone Mocha: Bangladesh Begins Major Evacuation Op As Severe Storm Threatens To Batter Country
As a powerful cyclone barrels toward millions of vulnerable people, aid agencies in Bangladesh say they are bracing for disaster and have launched a massive emergency plan.?Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the coasts of Myanmar and Bangladesh as Cyclone Mocha- the region's most powerful cyclone for over a decade- is set to hit.
Category 4 storm
The 'Super Cyclone' packed winds of up to 240 kilometres per hour. A dangerous category four on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the cyclone was expected to weaken before making landfall between Cox's Bazar on Sunday.?This is the second highest rating on the Saffir-Simpson Scale and indicates potential for catastrophic damage.
Bangladesh moved 1,90,000 people in Cox's Bazar and nearly 1,00,000 in Chittagong to safety, divisional commissioner Aminur Rahman told AFP.??
Cox¡¯s Bazar, the Bangladeshi city that is home to the world¡¯s largest refugee encampment, is bracing for the weather. Muhammad Shaheen Imran, a district official, said that the city had prepared more than 550 shelters to accommodate evacuees.
Aiming to relocate?5,00,000 people
Bangladeshi authorities on Saturday initiated a significant evacuation operation, aiming to relocate approximately 5,00,000 individuals residing along the southeastern coastlines. This urgent measure comes in response to the imminent landfall of a highly perilous tropical cyclone, which poses a severe threat to the world¡¯s largest Rohingya refugee camp.
Bangladeshi authorities have set up 55 shelters at Bhasan Char offshore island, where nearly 30,000 of the Rohingya refugees have been relocated from the mainland. Further, the authorities have instructed fishing boat operators in the Bay of Bengal to stay close to shore.
Cyclone Mocha??
The storm, Cyclone Mocha, formed over the southern Bay of Bengal on Thursday and has been drenching western Myanmar as it churned northeast, with heavy rain, strong winds and storm surges forecast to continue through Sunday, according to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System.
On Sunday morning, maximum sustained winds reached 160 miles per hour, with gusts surpassing 180 miles per hour, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, placing the storm as a Category 4 hurricane.?
Waves are expected to reach up to 20 feet off the Rakhine coast, according to the Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs.??
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