Over four months after cyclone, storm victims in Pauktaw Twsp struggle to recover

By Admin 04 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
4 October 2023, Pauktaw

More than four months after Cyclone Mocha made landfall over Arakan State on May 14, storm victims in Pauktaw Township are struggling to recover, according to locals.

Only 60 percent of needed rehabilitation work has reportedly been carried out in the villages of Thae Khon, Chaingpyin, Kyepyin, Wahlangon, Thitpotechaing, Nyaungbinchaing and Kyeinkhwaymaw, which were the hardest hit by the storm.

“The storm has caused many damages to us. Local people from those villages have received little in the way of rice supplies provided by the military junta or related relief aid,” said U Kyaw Kyaw Khaing, spokesman for the Pauktaw Township chapter of the Arakan National Party (ANP).

Most homes damaged by the storm have been repaired with only tarpaulin sheets, and storm victims are facing difficulties rebuilding their homes on a self-reliant basis due to the high cost of construction materials.

Most residents of Pauktaw Township work primarily in the farming and marine products industries, and the fishing industry was particularly impacted by the cyclone and its aftermath.

“Residents in our area mainly engage in fishing for their livelihoods,” said U Kyaw Thaung, a local fisherman from Thae Khon Village. “Local people in our area cannot engage in farming. They are currently struggling to make ends meet as their fishing equipment was destroyed by the storm.”

Cyclone Mocha destroyed at least 28,000 homes and affected more than 100,000 people in Pauktaw Township. The storm also killed thousands of cattle in more than 100 villages and destroyed thousands of baskets of paddy seeds in the township.

“We are unemployed because our farmlands were destroyed by the storm. We are struggling to make ends meet and we cannot eat rice sometimes,” said U Maung Than Tin, a local man from Thitpotechaing Village in Pauktaw Township.

Although the military regime says it is working to restore the lives and livelihoods of those affected by the storm, as well as providing relief food supplies, there are still many needs on the ground.

“The rehabilitation work has been completed as it should be,” insisted U Kyan Aye, the Pauktaw Township administrator. “We provide rehabilitation materials to all the villages. We have play no favourites and provide all storm victims with relief aid.”

More than 1.5 million people were affected by Cyclone Mocha, which made landfall over Arakan State on May 14, leaving a trail of destruction and ongoing humanitarian need in its wake.