One of the strongest storms to hit Myanmar in recent years severely disrupted communications in the impoverished state of Rakhine, a major ethnic armed group and an aid worker said on Monday (May 15), making it hard to ascertain the scale of its impact.
on Sunday afternoon, the biggest storm to hit the Bay of Bengal in over a decade.
About 400,000 people were evacuated in Myanmar and Bangladesh ahead of Cyclone Mocha making landfall, as authorities and aid agencies scrambled to avoid heavy casualties. "Early reports suggest the damage is extensive," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said late on Sunday. Strong winds and heavy rainfall are seen, as Cyclone Mocha approaches, in Sittwe, Rakhine, Myanmar May 14, 2023 in this screengrab taken from a video. Obtained by Reuters/Handout via REUTERS
"We drove all the way through the cyclone yesterday and cut trees and pushed away pylons ... but then the big trees blocked the road," an ambulance driver trying to reach Sittwe told AFP.Junta-affiliated media reported that the storm had put hundreds of base stations that connect mobile phones to networks out of action in Rakhine state.
Since a junta toppled a democratically elected government two years ago, Myanmar has been plunged into chaos and a resistance movement is fighting the military on various fronts following a crackdown on protests.The military has imposed internet shutdowns across parts of the country, including some areas in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin state, which was also in Cyclone Mocha's path.
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