Arakan News Agency
Cyclone Mora destroyed hundreds of structures and ripped roofs off buildings in Arakan State on Tuesday, including flattening shelters in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
There were no immediate reports of casualties and authorities were working to assess the damage, according to Lt-Col Win Naung of Sittwe Township police.
U Kyaw Hla Aung, from Thet Kay Pyin IDP camp on the outskirts of Sittwe and a member of the Rohingya community widely affected by the cyclone, on Tuesday that hundreds of structures in his area were blown to the ground.
The cyclone struck at 9 p.m. on Monday night and eased on Tuesday afternoon, with rain and wind continuing all day, he said, adding that he had heard of damage to “almost every” IDP camp along the Arakan coast.
There were reports that downed telephone lines were hampering communication in Maungdaw Township along the border with Bangladesh.
Some 50 buildings were destroyed in Khaung Doke Kar IDP camp, each home to about eight families, according to a local resident.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates 120,000 people remain displaced in Arakan State following riots in 2012 and subsequent flaring of violence.
Arakan State chief minister U Nyi Pu was working with the fire department, the electricity department, police, and the army to check damage around Sittwe on Tuesday, according to his Facebook page.
