Cyclone Mocha hits Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Bangladesh and Myanmar Brace for Severe Cyclone

As an extremely severe cyclone approaches coastal areas, Bangladesh and Myanmar are urging thousands of people to seek shelter. The outermost band of Cyclone Mocha reached the coast of Myanmar’s Rakhine state on Sunday morning, and by afternoon the center of the storm was expected to make landfall near Sittwe township, which was under the highest weather alert, Myanmar’s Meteorological Department said Sunday.

Evacuations and Preparations

More than 4,000 of Sittwe’s 300,000 residents have been evacuated to other cities since Friday, and more than 20,000 people are sheltering in sturdy buildings such as monasteries, pagodas, and schools located on the city’s highlands. Many local residents live in areas more than 3 meters above sea level, places where residents believe the storm surge cannot reach. Strong winds of 40 to 48 kilometers per hour (25 to 40 miles per hour) were blowing in the city on Sunday morning.

In Bangladesh, weather in most areas remained sunny and humid on Sunday morning. U.N. agencies and aid workers in Bangladesh prepositioned tons of dry food and dozens of ambulances with mobile medical teams in sprawling refugee camps with more than 1 million Rohingya who fled persecution in Myanmar. Bangladesh issued the highest danger signal for Cox’s Bazar, home to the camps. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department warned the cyclone could cause severe damage to lives and property in eight coastal districts.

Bangladesh, with more than 160 million people, has prepared more than 1,500 cyclone shelters. The navy said it’s keeping ready 21 ships, maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters for rescue and relief operations. Authorities in Bangladesh said heavy rains from the cyclone could trigger landslides in Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar and three other hilly districts — Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari.

Climate Change and Cyclones

Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are becoming more intense more quickly, in part because of climate change, according to Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune city. Cyclones can now retain their energy for many days, and as long as oceans are warm and winds are favorable, cyclones will retain their intensity for a longer period. Cyclones are among the most devastating natural disasters in the world, especially if they affect densely populated coastal regions in South Asia.

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