 "Cyclone Mocha: Where is it headed and how will it impact India?")
Cyclone Mocha on Friday intensified into a ‘very severe’ cyclonic storm. The India Meteorological Department tweeted:
The SCS “Mocha" intensified into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm, lay centered at 0530 hours IST of 12th May 2023 over Central adjoining Southeast Bay of Bengal near lat 13.2N & long 88.1E, about 520 km west-northwest of Port Blair.
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) May 12, 2023
But what happens next? And where is Mocha headed? And how will it impact India? Let’s take a closer look: What happens next? According to the IMD, Mocha is very likely to move north-northeastwards and intensify further into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm over the East-central Bay of Bengal on Friday night. Senior IMD scientist Sanjeev Dwivedi said, “The cyclonic storm is likely to recurve and on the 12th of May evening, it will intensify into a extremely severe cyclonic storm over the central Bay of Bengal.”
The cyclone would reach its peak intensity around Saturday evening, according to the IMD.
“The system is under continuous surveillance,” added Dwivedi. Where is it heading? The cyclone will likely cross southeast Bangladesh and north Myanmar coasts between Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh) and Kyaukpyu (Myanmar), close to Sittwe (Myanmar) where it will make landfall around noon on 14 May, according to the IMD. The cyclone will have a maximum sustained wind speed of 150 to 160 kmph gusting to 175 kmph, according to the agency. Cox Bazaar in Bangladesh is home to one of the world’s largest refugee camps, as per CNN. Most of them fled there after a military-led crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar in 2017. The UN refugee agency tweeted:
Emergency preparations in the camps & on Bhasan Char are underway ahead of potential cyclone Mocha which could make landfall in Bangladesh.
— UNHCR in Bangladesh (@UNHCR_BGD) May 11, 2023
The Government has hosted coordination meetings with humanitarian partners, including through the RRRC to respond jointly and efficiently. pic.twitter.com/EmoDDZjA8z
It added that to prepare for cyclones, hundreds of Rohingya refugee volunteers have been trained on identifying risks, informing their communities, evacuating people when needed, and responding after disaster strikes. It said that preparedness was the key. The WMO’s Clare Nullis told a Geneva press briefing that a storm surge of 2-2.5 meters over the weekend was likely to inundate low-lying areas of North Myanmar as well as parts of Bangladesh where flash floods and landslides were also possible. “It’s a very dangerous cyclone and…it’s associated with violent winds,” she said. “There will be major impacts both ahead and after landfall for potentially hundreds of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people,” she added. UN refugee agency spokesperson Olga Sarrado said preparations were underway for a partial evacuation of the camp, if needed.
The agency was also preparing tens of thousands of hot meals and jerrycans, she said.
The World Health Organization said it was pre-positioning some 33 mobile medical teams, 40 ambulances as well as emergency surgery and cholera kits for the camp. In Myanmar, the WHO was pre-positioning 500,000 water purification tablets among other supplies which amount to the entire monsoon season stocks. “If this turns into the level of cyclone we fear, we really need to be ready,” the WHO’s Margaret Harris told the briefing. How will it impact India? The cyclone is expected to pass by Bengal, but the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed eight teams and 200 rescuers in Digha as a precautionary measure. [caption id=“attachment_12588042” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Satellite image. Courtesy: IMD website[/caption] “We’ve deployed eight teams. Two hundred rescuers of NDRF have been deployed on the ground and 100 rescuers are on standby,” Gurminder Singh, Commandant, 2nd Battalion, NDRF. told ANI. The West Bengal government has also, in a precautionary move to combat possible devastation by Cyclone Mocha, shifted residents of low-lying and coastal areas of the state to safe shelters, an official said on Friday. Tarpaulins, drinking water pouches, milk powder, dry food, baby food and medicines have been sent to the safe shelters at the low-lying coastal areas of Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas districts and some areas of the Sundarbans, he said. “Though the weather office has predicted that Cyclone Mocha will dodge past West Bengal, we have taken all precautionary measures in case there is any change. We have shifted people living in the low lying coastal areas of Purba Medinipur, South 24 Parganas to our safe shelters and adequate relief materials have been sent to these areas,” the official told PTI.
Fishermen and tourists have been advised not to go into the sea for three days from Friday.
Eight search and rescue units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached Digha in Purba Medinipur district on Thursday night, he added. The cyclone is likely to cause ‘heavy’ to ‘very heavy’ rainfall in Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, southern Assam and parts of Manipur and adjoining areas on Saturday and Sunday. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook_,_ Twitter and Instagram_._
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