There will be an evacuation involving hundreds of thousands of people before the deadly weather system, set to intensify to an “extremely severe cyclonic storm”, hits land on Sunday – directly impacting Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, home to a million Rohingya refugees.
Authorities are preparing to rescue hundreds of thousands of people ahead of a “very severe” tropical cyclone on course to hit the biggest refugee camp in the world.
Storm Mocha is expected to unleash violent winds surpassing 110mph and trigger flash floods and potential landslides when it is set to make landfall in Bangladesh on Sunday.
The cyclone was on Friday deemed “very dangerous” by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), while warnings a storm surge of up to 2.5m (8.2ft) is likely to inundate parts of Bangladesh as well as low-lying areas of neighbouring Myanmar.
Although a direct hit is not expected, Storm Mocha’s path is set to impact Bangladesh’s southeastern border district, Cox’s Bazar, home to a million Rohingya refugees.
Just weeks earlier in March, thousands of people were left homeless after a huge blaze broke out in Cox’s Bazar.
Claire Nullis from the WMO told a news briefing in Geneva: “It’s a very dangerous cyclone and… it’s associated with violent winds.”
“There will be major impacts both ahead and after landfall for potentially hundreds of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people,” she added.
India’s Meteorological Department earlier classed Storm Mocha as “very severe” – and said on Friday afternoon the weather system is “very likely to intensify further into an extremely severe cyclonic storm” overnight.
On Friday afternoon, Storm Mocha was mapped around 600 miles (1,000km) southwest of Cox’s Bazar and 580 miles (930km) southwest of Sittwe in Myanmar, according to India’s Meteorological Department.
severe cyclonic storm "Mocha" #mocha #cyclonic #storm #winds @DDNewslive @airnewsalerts @moesgoi @ndmaindia pic.twitter.com/65akl16QNP
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) May 12, 2023