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Cyclone Mocha: 'Widespread damage' expected in Myanmar

A powerful cyclone has hit coastlines in the Bay of Bengal causing no major damage in Bangladesh but reportedly causing the deaths of at least six people in Myanmar, where communications are disrupted.

The eye of the storm hit Sittwe city, the capital of western Rakhine State in Myanmar. Nadia Khoury, deputy head of mission for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) says that "most of the telephone lines there are down, the internet is down and with winds approaching 250 km/h (155 mph) and high storm surges she expects houses to be flooded with quite widespread damage as more than 40% of housing is made with bamboo walls and thatched roofs." She says aid organisations are trying to communicate with field teams to better evaluate the situation and check staff are safe.

(Photo: Street view in Kyauktaw in Myanmar's Rakhine state as Cyclone Mocha's crashes ashore on May 14, 2023. Credit: SAI Aung MAIN / AFP via Getty Images)

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