Cyclone Mahasen Weakens, Warnings Downgraded
Cyclone Mahasen hits low-lying coast in Myanmar but officials had reduced level of warning as cyclone gradually decreases force, Reuters reports. At the outset, winds with the strength of 100 kph sends large and strong waves that made United Nations to predict that at least 4.1 million people could be affected.
Cyclone Mahasen was weaker as expected although there were thousands of people evacuated to emergency shelters. There was flooding along the coast at high tide and thousands of makeshift huts were shattered by strong rain and wind.
Meteorologists still warn people about possible mudslides as heavy rains continue to pour far north and east on Thursday night. Heavy rains continue to fall Friday into easternmost India and Northern Myanmar.
The initial fear for the Rohingya Muslims was eased as meteorological officials confirmed that the cyclone is moving northeast India.
Government agencies in Myanmar originally planned to evacuate 38,000 people living in makeshift camps in Rakhine State in the west. A large number of this figure is Rohingya Muslims who was caught in between sectarian violence between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingyas. They had endured an anti-Muslim campaign led by radical Buddhist monks.
At first, the Rohingyas were apprehensive to accept the help from the military volunteers, doubting their real intentions. But when strong wind and rain pours the camp sites, many of the Rohingyas load their belongings into the trucks used by humanitarian organizations such as the UN.
Barbara Manzi, UN humanitarian official assigned in Myanmar help women and children safely to shelters while men insisted to watch over their camps.
Mohammad Sha Alam, director of the Bangladesh Meterological Department told Reuters that the cyclone has now "crossed over coastal areas and is land depression over Bangladesh and adjoining areas of India and will gradually weaken further."
There were no official and confirmed numbers of casualties yet. However, a Bangladeshi official in charge with relief work said there were 6 people killed.
Reporters from different media said that the number of casualties had now reached ten with most of the people killed by falling trees and 50 were injured.
A Bangladeshi Police combing the town of Teknar told Reuters that there were 23 bodies found afloat along the coast. The bodies included 12 children and six women. The police think that these were the bodies of those people in the boat which sunk off Myanmar. It is to be recalled that there were 100 Rohingyas who rode a boat on Monday night which destination was not yet confirm.
Police said that the villagers had now buried the bodies and was given rightful rights.
Bangladesh is always vulnerable to storms and had history of thousands of people being killed during storm incidents. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed 140,000 people in Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta, south of the main city, Yangon.
Bangladesh government was able to provide 1,400 cyclone-proof building and many people were evacuated. However, there was still large number of people brought in sheltered camps made out of timber and palm fronds.