After strengthening into the equivalent of a category-five storm, a strong cyclone is now striking the shores of Bangladesh and Myanmar.
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| Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= BBC News |
195kph (120mph) gusts and heavy rain from Cyclone Mocha could cause severe floods on land near the Bay of Bengal.
Low-lying settlements could be inundated by storm surges up to four meters high.
There are worries that it might impact Cox's Bazar, which is home to almost a million people and is the largest refugee camp in the world.
Around 500,000 people have been moved to safer places after forecasters predicted Cyclone Mocha might be the worst storm to hit Bangladesh in nearly two decades.
As the storm system advanced towards the shore, heavy rain and strong winds started to pound the area, with reports of increased disruption starting around the city of Sittwe in Myanmar at around 13:00 (07:00 GMT).
In several areas of the Sittwe region, where films show the tide dramatically rising and bringing debris through flooded streets, electricity, and Wi-Fi connections have been suspended.
Although residents stuck by water were calling rescue teams in Sittwe, they stated it was still too unsafe for them to intervene.
As the hurricane neared, the strong winds caused a telecom tower to collapse. Videos posted to social media also showed billboards blowing off buildings and roofs being blown off houses in Yangon during torrential downpours.
A 14-year-old child was reportedly killed in Rakhine State, Myanmar, by a falling tree, according to local media.
Gale-force winds and torrential rains began to blow in Bangladesh as well. Cox's Bazar's streets were deserted as the storm intensified, the trees shaking in the wind, and the skies growing darker.
Cox's Bazar has several shelters put up in schools and monasteries, but they are presently all occupied and packed. The majority of Saturday was devoted to police in the region issuing take-cover and stay away from the beach warnings. Along with the official landslip warning, the authorities also anticipated very heavy rain on Sunday.
The greatest continuous wind speed within 75 kilometres (45 miles) of the cyclone's centre was reported to be approximately 195 kilometres (120 miles) per hour, with gusts and squalls reaching 215 kilometres per hour, according to the Bangladeshi meteorological department office.
The cyclone has not yet fully reached the shore, but Dr MM Malik, a meteorologist at the government storm warning station in Dhaka, told the BBC that it was anticipated to do so by 15:00 (09:00 GMT). It will take some time to cross because, according to him, it is 520 km in diameter.
In advance, surrounding airports were closed, fishermen were told to stop working, and 1,500 shelters were built while residents of at-risk regions were relocated to safer places.
Cyclone Mocha was expected to deliver torrential rain, which can cause landslides and pose a major threat to those living in hillside communities where landslips are common.
Many Rohingya refugees who are residing in Cox's Bazaar's camps and those who live along Myanmar's western shore have drawn special attention.
"For a cyclone to hit an area where there is already such deep humanitarian need is a nightmare scenario, impacting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people whose coping capacity has been severely eroded by successive crises," UN Humanitarian Coordinator A.I. Ramanathan Balakrishnan stated.
