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(CNN) — Aid agencies in Bangladesh and Myanmar say they are preparing for the disaster and have launched massive emergency plans as the powerful cyclone hits millions of vulnerable people.
Since forming in the Bay of Bengal early Thursday morning, Tropical Cyclone Moka has intensified into a top-tier Category 4 Atlantic hurricane with sustained winds of 240 kilometers per hour (150 miles per hour).
The storm was moving northeast at 22 kilometers (14 miles) per hour, according to Saturday’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center update.
Mocha is expected to make landfall on Sunday afternoon local time (early Sunday morning ET), likely over Myanmar’s Rakhine state and Cox’s Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh, home to the world’s largest refugee camp.
The Outer Band has already affected Myanmar and Bangladesh, bringing rain and high winds to the region. Conditions are expected to worsen towards landfall, posing threats of flooding and landslides.
IFRC Head of Delegation Sanjeev Khafrey said a disaster response team and more than 3,000 local volunteers trained in disaster preparedness and first aid are on standby at the camp, and a nationwide cyclone early warning system is in place. Bangladesh delegation being.
Caffrey said 7,500 emergency evacuation kits, 4,000 hygiene kits and 2,000 water containers are ready for distribution.
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Cyclone Mocha is gaining strength over the Bay of Bengal.
Additionally, mobile medical teams and dozens of ambulances are ready to serve refugees and Bangladeshis in need, with teams specially trained to help the elderly, children and the disabled on standby. said Arjun Jain, the United Nations Chief Coordinator for Rohingya Refugees. Bangladesh told CNN.
“We expect this cyclone to have a more severe impact than any other natural disaster we have faced in the last five years,” Jain said. “At this stage, we do not know where or how strong the cyclone will land. So we hope for the best, but we are also preparing for the worst.”
He said the evacuation of people living in low-lying areas and those with serious medical conditions had begun.
In Myanmar, residents of the coastal areas of Rakhine State and Ayeyarwady have started to flee, seeking shelter in schools and monasteries.
IFRC’s Caffrey said hundreds of Red Cross volunteers are on standby and authorities are relocating vulnerable people and raising awareness of the storm in villages and towns.
The last storm to make landfall of similar intensity was Tropical Storm Giri in October 2010. The storm landed as a high-end Category 4 storm with maximum wind speeds of 250 kilometers (155 miles).
More than 150 people died in Gili and about 70% of Kyaukphyu city was destroyed. About 15,000 homes were destroyed in Rakhine state by the storm, according to the United Nations.
About one million members of the stateless Rohingya community, who fled persecution in neighboring Myanmar during the 2017 military crackdown, live in large, overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar.
Most of them live in bamboo and tarp shelters on hillsides that are susceptible to high winds, rain and landslides.
Jain said the shelter can only withstand winds up to 40 kilometers per hour (24 miles per hour) and expects Cyclone Mocha winds to exceed that.
“The low-lying areas of the camps can flood rapidly, destroying facilities such as shelters and learning centers, as well as infrastructure such as bamboo bridges,” he said.
The cyclone has hit an already disastrous year for the Rohingya, and without more funding from the international community, the Jains said they would not have enough money to rebuild.
“They faced a 17% cut in food rations earlier this year due to funding cuts and expect further cuts in the coming months. 16,000 refugees left homeless in devastating fires, and now they have to deal with a cyclone. I don’t even have the money to do it,” he said.
There are also concerns about the 30,000 Rohingya refugees who are being held in institutions on an isolated, flood-prone island called Basan Char in the Bay of Bengal. The UN refugee agency said volunteers and medical teams were on standby, and cyclone shelter and food were provided for those living on the island.
About 6 million people in Myanmar are in need of humanitarian assistance and 1.2 million are displaced in Rakhine State and across the northwest, according to the UN humanitarian agency.
Over the last few decades, the intensity of tropical cyclones affecting parts of Asia has increased, with recent studies suggesting that the region could double in destructive power by the end of the century. is predicted.
Scientists are still trying to understand how climate change is affecting cyclones, but many studies show a link between human-caused global warming and more powerful and destructive cyclones. showing relevance.
Tropical cyclones (also called hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones, depending on their ocean basin and intensity) harness the heat of the ocean. It requires temperatures of at least 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) to form, and the warmer the ocean, the more water it can take in.
Water temperatures in the Bay of Bengal are currently around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the May average.
The climate crisis has warmed the oceans, absorbing about 90% of the world’s excess heat, providing ideal conditions for cyclones to thrive.
Recent studies show that rising ocean temperatures also increase the likelihood of cyclones intensifying rapidly.
Sea-level rise due to climate change increases risks and exacerbates storm surges from tropical cyclones, allowing storm surges to reach inland areas.
Bangladesh and Myanmar are particularly threatened because they are low-lying and home to some of the poorest people in the world.
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