Bangladesh authorities on Saturday ordered the evacuation of millions of people along the southeastern seaboard as a “very dangerous” tropical cyclone hit the country.
This is expected to pose a threat to the Rohingya refugee camp. Cyclone Mocha, one of the most powerful cyclones seen in Bangladesh in nearly two decades, is expected to make landfall near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border on Sunday.
The most powerful cyclone in the region in more than a decade moved into the Bay of Bengal. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, due to cyclone Mocha, winds are blowing at a speed of 220 kilometers per hour.
Cox’s Bazar, where some one million Rohingya live in refugee camps made up largely of temporary shelters. At the same time, it is expected to weaken before making landfall between Sittwe on the western Rakhine coast of Myanmar.
Residents of Myanmar Sittwe packed possessions and pets into cars, trucks, and tuk-tuks and moved to another place. About 150,000 people in Sittwe lost shops and markets in the city, with many locals taking refuge in monasteries. In 2008, a cyclone hit Myanmar that killed more than 130,000 people in southern Myanmar.