Cyclone Mocha crashed into the southern Bangladesh beaches shortly after lunchtime today, knocking the roofs off buildings and destroying trees as it made its way along the Naf River, which separates Bangladesh and Myanmar, forcing half a million people to seek safety in secure shelters.
“The cyclone made its landfall but its main brunt largely spared Bangladesh as it turned to eastwards at the last moments and headed towards northern Myanmar coast,” Bangladesh’s met office director Azizur Rahmann said.
However, officials and villagers in Bangladesh’s southern beaches said that the violent storm scattered fragile dwellings and uprooted trees, and meteorologists warned that the storm’s remains would create floods in low-lying areas.
According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), the Cox’s Bazar area was predicted to be severely devastated by Cyclone Mocha, but the costal district saw very little harm as the cyclone’s strongest component hit Myanmar.
“Costal districts, particularly Cox’s Bazar have been saved from severe wrath of cyclone Mocha… we predicted the cyclone may hit the Cox’s Bazar and its coastal areas and offshore islands would be devastated,” AKM Nazmul Haque told BSS.
Meanwhile, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mohammad Quamruzzaman of Teknaf, which visibly bears the worst brunt of the cyclone, said the wind was blowing at a speed of over 200 kilometres per hour in Teknaf and its southernmost part Shahpori Dip along the Bay of Bengal.
“The weather is frightening because of the very high velocity of wind but we are yet to see the much feared massive tidal surges,” he said.
The union parishad chairman of Saint Martin’s island, Mujibur Rahman, told BSS that the offshore coral island also experienced heavy storms that appeared to exceed 200 kilometers per hour, and that 7,000 of its 10,000 permanent residents sought shelter in hotels and motels in addition to the regular cyclone shelters.
Both stated that they had received no initial reports of casualties, but that the storm uprooted several trees and damaged houses and other structures in Teknaf and St. Martins.
According to weather officials, the Naf River saw a high tide that began at 11 a.m. and lasted until 5 p.m., in contrast to the low tide in Cox’s Bazar, which began at 9 a.m. and lasted until 3 p.m.
Cyclone Mocha, according to officials and people in Cox’s Bazar, has brought torrential rain and winds of up to 195kph (120mph), and it is anticipated that it may cause dangerous flooding on land in the Bay of Bengal.
Storm surges of up to four metres inundated settlements in low-lying areas, but fears mounted that the storm would wreak havoc on the world’s largest refugee camp in Teknaf, where over a million Rohingyas took improvised asylum to escape persecution in their country of Myanmar.
