Disaster Management Personnel On High Alert As Cyclone Mocha Intensifies

Both countries have taken precautionary measures, including evacuating thousands of people to safety camps, as the World Meteorological Organization warns of heavy rain, flooding, and landslides.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 14 May 2023 9:21 am

Cyclone Mocha: Storm in Port Blair

Cyclone Mocha is rapidly approaching the coastlines of Myanmar and Bangladesh, according to the reports by Mint, with wind speeds predicted to reach up to 210 km per hour at the time of landfall, making it equivalent to a category 4 hurricane, according to the India Meteorological Department. The World Meteorological Organization has warned that the super cyclone will cause heavy rain, flooding, and landslides along the coasts of both countries. As a result, both Bangladesh and Myanmar have taken precautions, including evacuating thousands of people, including Rohingya refugees, to over 4,000 safety camps.

Disaster Management Force personnel have been placed on high alert along the coastal areas of Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal as Cyclone Mocha intensifies into a severe cyclonic storm, expected to hit the coastlines of Bangladesh and Myanmar on Sunday.

Seven groups of NDRF personnel, including divers, have been deployed in Digha-Mandarmani coastal areas in Purba Medinipur district, while over 100 state disaster management group personnel have been deployed in Bakkhali sea beach in South 24 Parganas district to monitor the movement of tourists and locals who are being forbidden to go near the sea.

Residents of coastal areas in both districts have been urged to evacuate during the cyclone's landfall, and arrangements have been made to facilitate this. The breaches in embankments in Sunderbans, in particular, are being plugged on a war footing, while police and administration have put loudspeakers to warn people against getting near the sea in the afternoon.

Although the weather office predicts that Cyclone Mocha will dodge West Bengal, precautionary measures have been taken in case of any changes, with people living in low-lying coastal areas of Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas shifted to safe shelters, and adequate relief materials provided to these areas.

Fishermen have been warned not to venture into the sea for three days beginning on Friday. An IMD bulletin stated that the cyclone is likely to cross southern Bangladesh and northern Myanmar as an extremely severe cyclonic storm during the day.

(With PTI Inputs)