Posted on 26 May 2023
Last week, Cyclone Mocha hit the Rahkine State and northwestern region of Myanmar causing widespread destruction and fatalities.
According to OCHA, 6 million people in the region were already in need of humanitarian aid due to ongoing conflict and displacement. After the cyclone, 250,000 people now urgently require food and shelter.
Reports have revealed significant damage to housing and public infrastructure, with major concerns being public health and child protection. Communications have been vastly interrupted, which means the extent of the destruction remains unclear.
Displaced populations are particularly vulnerable, and a media release from Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK announced that so far they have been informed of around 400 deaths of internally displaced people in camps. “No humanitarian aid has reached the affected Rohingya people,” said Tun Khin, President of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK). “The international community needs to act urgently to reach survivors with medical and humanitarian aid, otherwise many more will die.”