Bangladesh evacuations ahead of ‘very severe’ Cyclone Mocha

Cyclone Mocha is forecast to make landfall on Sunday between Cox’s Bazar (pictured) in Bangladesh and Stittwe in neighbouring Myanmar – Copyright AFP Munir uz zaman

Mohammad MAZED, Tanbirul Miraj Ripon

Bangladesh Saturday moved to evacuate Rohingya refugees from “risky areas” to community centres and hundreds fled an island as the most powerful cyclone in nearly two decades barrelled towards the country and neighbouring Myanmar, officials said.

Cyclone Mocha was packing winds of up to 175 kilometres per hour (109 miles per hour) and meteorological officials in Dhaka classed it as “very severe”, with their Indian counterparts calling it “extremely severe”.

It is expected to make landfall on Sunday morning between Cox’s Bazar, where nearly one million Rohingya refugees live