Hundreds of homes destroyed by Cyclone Mocha in Maungdaw Twsp

By Admin 23 May 2023

DMG Newsroom
23 May 2023, Maungdaw

Hundreds of homes from eight villages in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, were destroyed by Cyclone Mocha, which made landfall with destructive force on May 14, and more than 6,000 storm victims are in need of food and healthcare services, as well as cash assistance to rebuild their homes.

As many as 1,000 homes from the villages were damaged or destroyed by the cyclonic storm.

“No casualties were reported in Maungdaw Township, but many homes were destroyed by the cyclonic storm. Construction materials are urgently needed to repair the damaged homes,” said Ko Kyaw Aye Maung, a resident of Magyigon Village.

Lakes and other reservoirs in the villages were flooded with saltwater, and the storm victims say they urgently need clean drinking water and healthcare services.

“Almost all the homes were destroyed by the storm, so we are in a lot of trouble. Some of the storm victims are suffering from diarrhoea due to saltwater entering the lakes. Storm victims do not have enough medicine and need food,” said Ko Kyaw Htwee, a local man from Kainggyi Village.

Ko Tun Tun from Thihoaye Village said the storm victims need the support of the relevant authorities and social support groups as soon as possible.

“Eight homes in our village were completely destroyed by the cyclonic storm. The roofs of some homes were blown off by the storm. We need construction materials to repair the damaged homes, but no donor has yet to come to our village,” he added.

A total of 1,156,796 people were affected by the cyclone and accompanying flooding in Arakan State, with financial losses totalling nearly K4.7 billion, the junta’s Arakan State Administration Council said on Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of surviving storm victims in Arakan State are currently in need of food, medicine, shelters and clean drinking water, and will need substantial assistance for recovery.