Bangladeshi authorities on Saturday initiated a significant evacuation operation, aiming to relocate approximately 500,000 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.
Christened Cyclone Mocha, this formidable cyclone is anticipated to approach the Bangladesh-Myanmar border on Sunday, marking one of the most intense cyclonic events witnessed in Bangladesh in almost twenty years.
“Cyclone ‘Mocha’ is coming. We have kept the cyclone centres and taken all types of preparations to tackle it," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said.
Let’s Look At Some of The Updates
-Evacuation Drive Taken By Authorities
The evacuation drive was taken as the maritime port of Cox’s Bazar has been advised to hoist danger signal no 10 as Cyclone Mocha is likely to intensify further and move in a north-north-westerly direction.
Meteorologists said the storm’s path is set to affect Bangladesh’s southeastern border district of Cox’s Bazar where over a million Rohingya refugees live.
-30k Rohingyas Shifted to Shelters
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.
Bangladesh exclusively dedicated the Bhasan Char to the Rohingyas though most of them live in the mainland of Cox’s Bazar adjacent to Myanmar borders.
Most of them fled to neighbouring Bangladesh after a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017.
-Authorities Run Campaign
Deputy commissioner or administrative chief of the coastal district Muhammad Shahin Imran told reporters that around 8,600 Red Crescent volunteers have joined the campaign asking people to relocate even as the district administration has mobilised transports to carry them to shelters.
-Cyclone Mocha Continue To Move North
Bangladesh’s Met Office in its latest special weather bulletin said “Cyclone Mocha” continued to move to the north-northwest packing winds up to 175 kilometres per hour.
“The cyclone could cause tidal surges from 8 to 12 feet beyond the normal tide,” an official in the Met Office said.
-Cyclone May Disrupt Electricity Supplies
Prime Minister Hasina warned that the cyclone could disrupt electricity and gas supplies and particularly cause water stagnation in coastal areas.
“This cyclone (Mocha) is the most powerful storm since Cyclone Sidr of 2007," chief meteorologist Azizur Rahman said.
Bangladesh Launches Massive Evacuation Operation as Cyclone Mocha Threatens to Wreak Havoc in Coastal Region
-WMO Fears Cyclone May Inundate Low-Lying Areas
On Friday, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) feared a storm surge of 2-2.5 metres over the weekend that was likely to inundate low-lying areas of North Myanmar as well as parts of Bangladesh where flash floods and landslides were also possible.
“It’s a very dangerous cyclone and is associated with violent winds. There will be major impacts both ahead and after landfall for potentially hundreds of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people," WMO spokesman Clare Nullis told a press briefing in Geneva.
-People Evacuated From Tip of Cox Bazar
Meanwhile, thousands have been relocated from Saint Martin Island, which is situated about 9 km south of the tip of Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf peninsula.
Junior minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman said six districts stretching along the southern coastlines could witness severe tidal surges.
-Cyclone May Cause Landslide in Hilly Areas
The deputy commissioner said the cyclonic storm might cause landslides in the hilly areas of the district and works were underway to relocate people living in risky points of foothills to safer places.
UN refugee agency spokesperson Olga Sarrado said preparations were underway for a partial evacuation of the Rohingya refugee camp if needed.
The agency was also preparing tens of thousands of hot meals and jerrycans, she said.