Inputs by Shuchi Giridhar
A cyclonic storm named Mocha (pronounced Mo-kha) has made landfall in Myanmar. It was first noticed by the IMD as a cyclonic circulation in the Bay of Bengal and later eluded the East coast and headed to Myanmar. The cyclone is named Mocha after the city Mocha. The name was given by Yemen. The name was given to recognise the port city on the Red Sea coast – Mocha aka Mukha. The city is credited with introducing mocha coffee to the world.
The storm hit the Myanmar Coast on Sunday, 14th May. It made landfall near Sittwe township with winds of up to 209 kilometres (130 miles) per hour. The Myanmar Meteorological Department stated that the storm had recently passed through Bangladesh’s Saint Martins Island but after much damage turned away from Bangladesh mainland. Bangladesh authorities had evacuated 750,000 people during the buildup of the storm. Bangladesh was, however, affected by the storm, though not as much as was initially expected.
Many people took shelter in monasteries, schools, and pagodas. The cell phone service got cut off and the streets were flooded.
Civil infrastructure and the wooden boats on the shore were affected by the storm.
The shelters in Sittwe were doing their best to cope with the numbers that reached to avoid the storm.
The storm also affected Coco Islands. Around 236 houses and eight refugee camps have been damaged in Mizoram (India) and Myanmar. The winds affected 5,749 people in fifty villages on Sunday.
Images and videos shared on Twitter show strong winds and floods.
Featured Image: Current satellite image over India. Image credit: IMD