At least 18,000 homes from 115 villages in Mrauk-U Township, Arakan State, were damaged or destroyed last week by Cyclone Mocha, said an official from the township General Administration Department office.

Storm victims and social organisations say Myanmar’s military regime urgently needs to ratchet up deliveries of the food and medical provisions donated by India to Cyclone Mocha victims in Myanmar.

“The storm came as another blow to us, who are already suffering from armed conflicts. For now, we need houses and rice as well as drinking water and toilets,”

The NUG donated K100 million, Kachin Independence Organization gave K300 million,

Among the victims were 24 Arakanese people, 117 Muslims and four junta soldiers, with the majority of casualties reported in Sittwe, Rathedaung and Ponnagyun townships.

Some 600 internally displaced people (IDPs) are reportedly in need of emergency assistance after over 120 shelters at a displacement camp in Htanpin Kone Lay Village, part of Magway Region’s Htilin Township, were destroyed by Cyclone Mocha.

Boiling water has been difficult for many, meanwhile, because electricity is out or unreliable across a large swath of cyclone-hit Arakan State.

Twenty-one more people have been confirmed dead as a result of Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State’s Sittwe, Rathedaung and Ponnagyun townships.

The Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) will supply 3,000 tonnes of rice from its rice reserve for townships in Arakan State hit by Cyclone Mocha.

Around 80 Muslims in Muslim villages and some 34 others in displacement camps died during the storm, according to a DMG tally as of Thursday.

The prices of basic foodstuffs and other goods including building materials and fuel have in some cases doubled following the cyclone, which made landfall near Sittwe on Sunday.

The AA has urged foreign countries, including fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and international aid agencies to help cyclone-hit people as quickly as possible.

WFP said it is gearing up for a large-scale emergency response, putting in place contingency plans, and prepositioning food and relief supplies, vehicles, and emergency equipment.

“People who fail to evacuate because they are worried about their belongings may be prosecuted under the Natural Disaster Management Law,” U Hla Thein wrote on Facebook.

Bus fares on Friday increased from 15,000 kyats per head to 40,000 kyats as many people are flocking to the ancient royal capital, which lies higher above sea level.

Shopkeepers at the central market have been shifting their stocks for fear that they will be damaged by either wind, rain or flooding.

“AA members have come and helped those who don’t have their own motorboats evacuate. I saw AA members also providing healthcare services for elderly persons. Almost the entire island has been evacuated now,”

“We’ve taken note of the impending storm. The government has not informed us about the storm yet. The IDP shelters are damaged, so they won’t be able to withstand the storm. The Muslim IDPs are worried about their safety,” 

Break-ins have continued despite the fact that the township development committee has assigned night watchmen to the market.