Photo : TDM
As cyclone Mocha completed its landfall, the serene beauty of Saint Martin’s Island looked shattered after the cyclone unleashed its wrath Sunday (14 May) afternoon – thereby resulting in the loss of two lives and trails of destruction in the coral island and Cox’s Bazar coast.
Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md. Kamruzzaman confirmed the deaths of two persons in St. Martin’s after the picturesque eight-square-kilometre coral island was reduced to ruins – with immense sufferings inflicted on its inhabitants thanks to ferocious winds and unrelenting downpours.
The cyclonic storm wreaked havoc, uprooting hundreds of trees and decimating nearly 1,000 houses in the areas of Majhorpara, Konarpara, Galachipa, Dakshinpara, Paschimpara, and Uttarpara. The villages of Uttarpara and Paschimpara faced additional hardship as they were overwhelmed by tidal surges. The residents of these areas are now grappling with the aftermath of the cyclone.
In the face of imminent danger, over 6,000 individuals, mostly women and children, sought refuge in three cyclone shelters, various educational institutions, as well as more than 37 resorts and cottages. These temporary havens provided a safe sanctuary for those displaced by the calamity.
In Cox's Bazar, the impact of Mocha was equally devastating – with nearly 13,000 houses in 57 unions and three municipality areas being destroyed. Of these, 10,469 houses were partially damaged, while 2,522 huts were completely razed to the ground.
The entire system of cyclone Mohca made landfall earlier than anticipated – thereby striking the southeastern coastlines before noon. The center of the cyclone crossed over the Naf River, which acts as a natural border between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The coastal regions, including Akyab (Sittwe) in Myanmar, bore the brunt of the cyclone's immense power. The landfall persisted for approximately four hours, accompanied by wind speeds ranging from 120 to 130 kilometers per hour.
Although the danger signal has been lowered in seaports, the Met Office has advised maintaining local cautionary signal number 3 throughout Monday, May 15. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecasted heavy to very heavy rainfall as the effects of the cyclone continue.
Kamrul Hassan, a senior meteorologist at the Met Office, has issued warnings of potential downpours in Barishal, Chittagong, and Sylhet divisions due to the cyclone's intense pressure gradient.
As a result of the cyclone's influence, temperatures across the country are expected to drop by 2-3 degrees Celsius, accompanied by cloud cover and rain. The Meteorological Office welcomes this change as it signals the end of the mild heatwave that had gripped the western part of the country.
Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, executive engineer of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Center, has cautioned about the rapid rise of several rivers in the southeastern region due to heavy rainfall. The Muhuri, Halda, Karnaphuli, Sangu, Matamuhuri, Bankkhali, and Naf rivers are at risk of flash floods as the cyclone continues to impact the area.
Mohammad Quamruzzaman, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Teknaf, vividly described the harrowing conditions experienced in the area. With wind speeds exceeding 200 kilometers per hour, Teknaf and its southernmost part, Shahpori Dip, along the Bay of Bengal, bore the brunt of the cyclone's ferocity. Despite the alarming weather conditions, Quamruzzaman expressed relief that the much-feared massive tidal surges had not materialized.
Officials reported contrasting tide patterns in the Naf River and Cox's Bazar. While Cox's Bazar experienced low tide from 9 am to 3 pm, the Naf River witnessed high tide from 11 am to 5 pm. The combination of heavy rain and winds up to 195 kilometers per hour posed a significant risk of flooding in low-lying areas along the Bay of Bengal.
The officials and residents in Cox's Bazar said cyclone Mocha has brought with it heavy rain and winds of up to 195kph (120mph) and feared it could trigger dangerous flooding on land along the Bay of Bengal.
The storm surges up to four metres swamped villages in low lying areas but tensions grew about amid speculations that the storm could ravage the world's largest refugee camp in Teknaf where over a million Rohingyas took makeshift refugees to evade persecution in their homeland in Myanmar.
Bangladesh authorities earlier moved to safety some half a million people while many of the Rohingyas living in risky foothills were relocated amid fears of mudslides.
The met office issued its latest special cyclone bulletin at 3 PM saying the "the coast crossing very severe cyclonic storm mocha (pronunciation Mokha) moved north-northeastwards and weakened slightly".
“The centre of the system has crossed the Cox's Bazar-north Myanmar coast near sittwe (Myanmar) at 03 pm today (14 may 2023) and lies over the land area of Myanmar (lat. 20.5°n, lon 92.8°e).”
The bulletin said by the evening today the whole cyclone would completely cross the coast by and "weaken gradually".
Fresh warning
But under the influence of the system, northeast bay and adjoining area will experience maximum sustained wind speed of 120 kph rising to 130 kph in Gusts or squalls while maritime ports of Cox's Bazar were asked to keep hoisted great danger signal no 10.
The met office directed the Cox's Bazar, Chattogram and Payra seaports to keep hoist great danger signal no. 10 adding the signals would cover adjoining areas and offshore islands or chars. Mongla port is to keep hoisted local warning signal number 4.
The coastal districts of Chattogram, Feni, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Barishal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Jhalokathi, Pirojpur, Borguna and their offshore islands and chars will come under great danger signal no. eight (r) eight.
River ports of Cox's Bazar, Chattogram, Feni, Noakhall, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Barishal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Jhalokathi, Pirojpur and Borguna were asked to keep hoisted riverine great danger signal no. 4 in a scale of four or highest for inland waters.
"Chattogram and their offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated by the wind driven surge height of 5 to 7 feet above normal astronomical tide under the peripheral effect of very severe cyclone and steep pressure gradient," the bulletin said.
The low lying areas of coastal Feni, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Bhola and their offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated by surges with heights from 3 feet to 5 feet above normal astronomical tide.
According to the bulletin, the Mocha was likely to cause heavy rain falls in Chattogram, Sylhet and Barishal ranging from 44 millimeter to 289 millimeter (mm). "Due to very heavy rainfall landslide may occur at places over the hilly regions of Cox's Bazar, Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachari snd Chattogram," the met office warned.
It also asked all fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay to remain in shelter till further notice.
TDM/SD
