Cyclone Mocha, with winds of up to 210 kilometers per hour, could raise sea levels by up to 4 meters, affecting more than two million people directly in its path, mainly in Rakhine and Chin states. in Myanmar.
But the United Nations Satellite Center warned that many could suffer as the storm moves inland from the Bay of Bengal.
“Saving lives is our main priority,” said Mizanur Rahman, a disaster relief official in neighboring Bangladesh, who evacuated some 300,000 people before the storm made landfall at midday as scheduled.
Aid workers are worried about the dangers to more than a million Rohingya refugees, including half a million children, who live in camps in the coastal town of Cox’s Bazar near the path of the cyclone.
“People at risk are on their way to be transported to safe shelters and we are also organizing relief packages,” said Farah Kabir of ActionAid in Bangladesh.
Most of the refugees are living in temporary accommodation in overcrowded camps after fleeing a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017.
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