Cyclone’s damage to communications infrastructure leaves Arakan residents in info darkness

By Admin 03 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
3 June 2023, Sittwe

Local people in northern Arakan townships continue to lack access to information as communications remain down for many in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha.

“In rural areas, MPT and Mytel SIM cards are showing no network. Other SIM cards only work for less than five minutes. So, we have to go to Maungdaw and Rathedaung towns to make phone calls. Some tried making phone calls on top of hills, but it didn’t work either,” said a volunteer helping storm victims in Rathedaung Township.

Affected people largely get information by word by mouth as communications have been down for some three weeks. Serious disruptions to communications are also causing problems for administrative functions, as well as in health and social aspects.

The administrator of Myaung Nar (Muslim) Village in Buthidaung Township said: “Normally, we have a Viber group through which we are contacted and notified about administrative works. However, as I don’t have access to the internet now, I have to go to Buthidaung to check documents and to take orders from higher-ups.”

The junta mouthpiece Rakhine Daily said the retransmission station of military-controlled Myawaddy TV and FM radio retransmission station in Sittwe that were damaged by the storm have been repaired, and local people can pick them up.

U Aung Kyaw from Taw Kan village in Sittwe said: “We can’t watch TV for news programmes. We can’t also watch news online. I also don’t have a radio. We only have hearsay, and I don’t think it is credible.”

Media outlets are also struggling due to interruptions to communications, which make it difficult for news agencies to make real-time reports.

Editor-in-Chief Ko Wunna Kwar Nyo of Western News said: “We can’t make phone calls to rural areas after the storm. Rural people have to come to the town to use the internet. Journalists are struggling to report what is happening on the ground.”

The cyclone not only brought down communications but also disrupted electricity supply in Sittwe, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, Maungdaw, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Pauktaw townships.

There are 1,233 communications base stations in Arakan State and 904 of them were destroyed or damaged by the storm, the regime said on May 28.