Dhaka: Authorities in Bangladesh and Myanmar on Friday evacuated thousands of people from coastal areas to safer places and warned them to stay away from coastal areas in the wake of powerful cyclonic storm ‘Mokha’ brewing in the Bay of Bengal. The India Meteorological Department said that winds with a speed of 160 kmph and gusting to 175 kmph are expected between Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar and Kyukpyu in Myanmar on Sunday. Bangladesh is a country of 160 million people where natural disasters like floods and cyclones are frequent.
About 500,000 people are likely to be evacuated to safer places on Saturday in view of the cyclone and 576 camps have been set up for the affected people, said Muhammad Shaheen Imran, administrator of the Bangladesh government. Rajendra Kumar Jenamani, senior scientist at the Indian Meteorological Department, said, “This is the first cyclone this year to rise from the North Indian Ocean.” In May 2008, Cyclone ‘Nargis’ hit the southwest Ayeyarwady or Irrawaddy region of Myanmar and caused massive devastation in the surrounding areas along the Irrawaddy river bank. Due to this disaster, at least 138,000 people died and thousands of houses and buildings were washed away.
Tun, director of Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, said authorities warned people in coastal areas of possible flooding and landslides and advised them to stock up on essentials. Friday’s issue of the official Global New Light of Myanmar featured news about drills for emergency management, rescue, response, cooperation, preparedness and rehabilitation process in various regions. According to reports, thousands of people living near the west coast of Rakhine state are likely to be evacuated by social workers and rescue organisations. There is a possibility of a storm passing through this area. Bangladesh government administrator Muhammad Shaheen Imran said control rooms in Bangladesh were ready to provide any emergency assistance to the cyclone-hit areas. He said the three coasts have been asked to be on alert.
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