Myanmar raises death toll from Cyclone Mocha to 54, but full extent of damage still unknown

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By GRANT PECK today

BANGKOK (AP) — At least 54 people were killed and more than 185,000 buildings damaged in Myanmar by a powerful cyclone last weekend, state television MRTV reported Thursday.

Communication difficulties in the affected areas, where infrastructure was already poor, and the military government’s tight control over information leave the actual extent of casualties and destruction unclear.

Cyclone Mocha roared in from the Bay of Bengal on Sunday with high winds and rain slamming a corner of neighboring Bangladesh and a wider swath of western Myanmar’s Rakhine state. It made landfall near Rakhine’s Sittwe township with winds of up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour before weakening to a tropical depression Monday as it moved inland.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said widescale destruction of homes and infrastructure was seen throughout Rakhine state.




Read more: https://apnews.com/article/myanmar-cyclone-mocha-deaths-rohingya-eec0b6ba2e4fe5346ced3969f111ae5e

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Cyclone Mocha death toll rises sharply (to at least 145) in Myanmar

The junta had earlier put the death toll at 21, but local residents told the BBC that at least 40 had died.

About 800,000 people have been affected by one of the strongest storms to hit the region this century, the UN said.
...
"Altogether 145 local people were killed during the cyclone," Myanmar's junta said in a statement on Friday, the AFP news agency reported.

According to the statement, among the victims were four soldiers, 24 locals and 117 people from the Rohingya minority.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65646054