New Delhi:
“Extremely severe” cyclonic storm Mocha is making landfall over the coasts of Myanmar and Bangladesh, the weather bureau said, adding that the landfall process has begun. Maximum sustained wind speed would be 180-190 km/h, with gusts of up to 210 km/h, it added.
The powerful cyclone made landfall on the Teknaf coastline shortly after noon before making its way through the Naf River that separates Bangladesh and Myanmar.
“It is very likely to move north-northeastward and cross the coasts of southeastern Bangladesh and northern Myanmar between Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh) and Kyaukpyu (Myanmar), close to Sittwe (Myanmar) within a few hours as an extremely heavy cyclonic storm with maximum sustained winds, speed of 180-190 km/h with gusts of up to 210 km/h,” the statement said.
Disaster Management Force personnel were on high alert along the coastal areas of Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas districts in West Bengal, PTI news agency said, citing an official.
Seven groups of NDRF personnel, including divers, were deployed to the coastal areas of Digha-Mandarmani in Purba Medinipur district when the sea turned choppy, the official said.
The United Nations World Meteorological Organization said it hopes everyone in Mocha’s path remains safe, including vulnerable refugees and internally displaced people.
We hope everyone on the path of #Mocha remains safe, including vulnerable refugees and displaced persons#EarlyWarningsForAllhttps://t.co/TTW8V6qj8e
— World Meteorological Organization (@WMO) May 14, 2023
Heavy rains and storms are taking place over the northern coast of Myanmar-Bangladesh and the eyewall’s forward sector is entering these coastal areas, India’s Meteorological Department said.
Mocha began hitting the coasts of Bangladesh and Myanmar on Sunday after intensifying to the equivalent of a Category Five storm.
The Myanmar Red Cross said it was “preparing for a major emergency response”.
Cyclone Mocha’s peripheral effect began earlier today over the coastal areas of Chattorgram and Barishal divisions, according to the latest bulletin from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), the Dhaka Tribune reported.
Cyclone Mocha began making landfall near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border on Sunday, the Bangladesh Weather Bureau said, uprooting trees and bringing torrential rain to a region where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees live.
Cyclone Mocha is the most powerful storm to hit Bangladesh since Cyclone Sidr, Azizur Rahman, the head of Bangladesh’s Meteorological Department, told AFP news agency.
Sidr hit the southern coast of Bangladesh in November 2007, killing more than 3,000 people and causing billions of dollars in damage.
Bangladesh and Myanmar evacuated hundreds of thousands of people as Cyclone Mocha was about to make landfall and potentially devastate one of the region’s most vulnerable areas, Bloomberg reported.
Meteorologists previously warned that Mocha could be Bangladesh’s most powerful storm in nearly two decades.