A potent cyclone has reportedly killed at least 145 people in Myanmar (Burma), according to the country’s military leaders.
According to reports, the majority of Cyclone Mocha’s Sunday victims belonged to the Rohingya minority.
The junta had previously estimated the death toll to be 21, but locals informed that at least 40 people had perished.
According to the United Nations, approximately 800,000 people have been affected by one of the strongest storms to strike the region this century.
Mocha, a category five cyclone, pummelling the Rakhine state in central Myanmar, as well as the Sagaing and Magway regions, with winds of up to 209 km/h (130 mph).
145 residents were slain by the cyclone, Myanmar’s junta said in a statement released on Friday, according to AFP.
According to the statement, the victims included four soldiers, 24 locals, and 117 Rohingya minority members.
Before the official statement, numerous reports suggested a much higher death toll than the initial count of 21, particularly in centers where Rohingya refugees reside.
Hundreds of homes and shelters have collapsed, communication in the country has been difficult, and individuals remain missing.
Sittwe, the Rakhine capital, has many low-lying coastal residents, and downed trees and power lines have obstructed highways.
Following the storm, there have been allegations of military attacks on locals.
The army entered villages in northwestern Sagaing under the typhoon, forcing thousands to flee.
2021’s military rebellion was met with some of the strongest opposition from Sagaing’s communities. The region is also home to numerous anti-government militias known as the People’s Defence Force.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in neighboring Bangladesh, but thousands of shelters were destroyed in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement. One million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar reside there.
Mocha occurred 15 years after one of Asia’s deadliest cyclones, Nargis, killed 140,000 people in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta.
Cyclones are comparable to hurricanes and typhoons in the Atlantic and Pacific, respectively. Due to climate change, these cyclones have become more intense and frequent, according to scientists.
