Bangladesh to be pounded by cyclone; evacuations underway
About half a million people are being evacuated to safer places in southeast Bangladesh ahead of a storm that could be too dangerous.
Cyclone Mocha is expected to come on Sunday with 170kph winds, and the storm goes up to 12 feet.
Thousands evacuated in Bangladesh amid tensions regarding the storm:
There are worries the cyclone could affect the world’s biggest refugee centre, Cox’s Bazar, where nearly a million people live in makeshift houses. Showers are already falling on the base, and red caution flags have been raised.
Cyclone Mocha could be the most powerful cyclone in Bangladesh in almost twenty years.
As the climate system heads on to the Bangladesh-Myanmar shore, nearby airports have been closed, fishermen have been advised to stop their work, and 1,500 shelters have been put up as the process of shifting people from weak areas starts.
Officers in Cox’s Bazar said 1,000 people had already been vacated from one place, with plans to take a further 8,000 people from a ward around the beach if the condition worsens.
The officer said visitors staying in beachside resorts would be safe so that emergency employees would move residents like fishermen and families staying in more vulnerable houses.
Nearly a million Rohingya refugees who have escaped neighbouring Myanmar remain at stake, living in light bamboo shelters with canvas covers. The UN states it’s doing what it can to save these sites.
Bangladesh’s government doesn’t let refugees flee their camps, so many say they’re scared and doubtful of what will happen if the hurricane strikes their shelters.
Prophets predict the cyclone to bring a deluge of rainfall, which can initiate landslides – a risk for those living in hillside centres, where landslips are normal.
MD Shamsul Douza, from the Bangladeshi regime office, which leads the refugees and the headquarters, told the press they were working with NGOs to assure the centres were as ready as feasible for the cyclone.
