Refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar brace for Cyclone Mocha

DHAKA: Emergency preparations were underway at the world’s largest refugee settlement in southern Bangladesh on Friday as the area braced for a powerful cyclone with winds of up to 175 kph, posing a danger to the more than 1 million Rohingya housed in camps at the site.

Cyclone Mocha was picking up strength in the Bay of Bengal on course to hit Bangladesh’s coastal Cox’s Bazar district, which has hosted Rohingya Muslims who fled neighboring Myanmar during a military crackdown in 2017.

Most of the refugees live in the hilly area in makeshift bamboo and tarpaulin huts, which are vulnerable to rain, strong winds and landslides.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department director Azizur Rahman told Arab News that Cyclone Mocha on Friday morning turned into a “very severe cyclone” and was expected to make landfall in Cox’s Bazar at noon on Sunday.

“Cox’s Bazar is at a very vulnerable point ... during the landfall, the highest wind speed will reach up to 175 kph. In terms of intensity, Mocha is similar to Cyclone Sidr,” Rahman said.

Sidr, which hit Bangladesh in November 2007, caused one of the country’s worst natural disasters. The Red Crescent Society has estimated that up to 15,000 people had been killed during its landfall.

Cyclone Mocha is beginning to resemble Sidr, and has also formed what is known as the “eye” of the storm, a central region characterized by lighter winds. Tropical cyclones are often observed to rapidly intensify with the formation of the eye area.

With the cyclone hitting the coast, another danger was posed by high tides, which the Met said could reach two meters, or even more if the cyclone coincides with normal waves.

“There are chances of higher tides up to 12 feet,” Rahman said.

“Normal tidal waves begin at 3 p.m., and in this case, Mocha will coincide with normal tidal waves.”

In Cox’s Bazar, there were no immediate plans for mass evacuation, but 3,400 volunteers have been mobilized for emergency response and regional schools and community halls have been turned into temporary emergency shelters, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mizanur Rahman told Arab News.

“We have taken sufficient measures to save the Rohingya from Cyclone Mocha. Rohingya who are living in landslide-prone areas will be relocated to safer places, if needed. In each of the camps, there will be a control room to deal with emergency issues. Our mobile health teams are on standby,” he said.

“All health partners have made preparations and stored fuel to ensure alternative power supply in case of a disaster.”