Cyclone Mocha to hit Myanmar-Bangladesh coast today, says IMD, alert issued in West Bengal’s Bakkhali

 The extremely severe cyclonic storm “Mocha” is likely to cross between Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar and Myanmar’s Kyaukpyu, close to Sittwe around Sunday noon, said Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

“The ESCS “Mocha” lay centered at 0530hrs IST of 14th May 2023 over Northeast & adjoining Eastcentral Bay of Bengal near lat 18.7N & long 91.5E. Its likely to cross between Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh) & Kyaukpyu (Myanmar), close to Sittwe (Myanmar) around noon of today,” IMD tweeted.

In West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas, civil defence teams have been deployed at Bakkhali Sea Beach as Cyclone ‘Mocha’ intensifies into an extremely severe cyclonic storm.

They said that the members of Civil defence teams are continuously alerting the public and tourists and asking them to remain alert and avoid coming to the beach and areas close to the sea.

“The condition is not good. We are continuously alerting the public and tourists to be alert and avoid coming to the beach,” Anmol Das, a civil defence official said.

Earlier, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also deployed 8 teams and 200 rescuers in West Bengal’s Digha after warnings about cyclone ‘Mocha’ intensifying into a severe storm.

“We’ve deployed 8 teams. 200 rescuers of NDRF deployed on the ground and 100 rescuers on standby,” NDRF officials said earlier.

“This is the first cyclone to threaten Myanmar this Monsoon season and there are grave concerns about the impact especially on already vulnerable and displaced communities,” Al Jazeera reported citing the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Friday.

According to the report, more than 230,000 Rakhine residents reside in displaced persons’ camps that are “located in low-lying coastal areas susceptible to storm surge.”

According to UNOCHA, around six million people in the storm’s projected path in Rakhine and the three northwesterly states of Chin, Magway, and Sagaing already required humanitarian aid.

Authorities have issued warnings about the risks of flooding, landslides, and a storm surge of 2 to 2.7 metres (6.6 to 8.9 feet) in height.