DHAKA: Around half a million people are being evacuated to safer areas in southeast Bangladesh ahead of a cyclone that could be highly devastating.
Cyclone Mocha is expected to hit on Sunday with winds of 170kph and storm surges of up to 12 feet. There are fears that the cyclone may affect Cox’s Bazar, the largest refugee camp in the world, where almost a million people live in makeshift houses. Red warning flags have been raised, and rain is already falling on the camp. Cyclone Mocha may be the most powerful cyclone to hit Bangladesh in almost two decades.
As the cyclone heads towards the Bangladesh-Myanmar coast, fishermen have been asked to suspend their work, nearby airports have been shut, and 1,500 shelters have been established to shift the people from vulnerable areas.
Officials in Cox’s Bazar said around 1,000 people have already been moved from one area, and they plan to move 8,000 more people from a ward close to the beach if the situation worsens.
The additional deputy commissioner at Cox’s Bazar, Vibhushan Kanti Das, told the BBC, “We are fully prepared to face any hazards as we don’t want to lose a single life.”
The official said that tourists staying in beachside hotels would be safe, so emergency workers would move locals like families and fishermen who live in more vulnerable homes. Close to a million Rohingya refugees who have fled neighbouring Myanmar remain at risk, living in flimsy bamboo shelters with tarpaulin covers. The United Nations says it’s doing what it can to protect these areas.
The government of Bangladesh doesn’t allow refugees to leave their camps, so many say they’re unsure and frightened of what will happen if the storm hits their shelters.
Official forecasters expect the cyclone to cause a deluge of rain, which can lead to landslides, a danger for those who reside in hillside camps, where landslips are a regular phenomenon.
In Myanmar- the rain started on Friday night in Sittwe City, the capital of Rakhine State. The streets emptied as people took shelter, with many seeking safety in cyclone shelters on high ground.
Life jackets are hard to find and are being offered for a higher price if available. On Saturday, no petrol stations were open, making it impossible for residents to leave the city.
![NEW YORK: Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leading Pakistan’s high-level parliamentary delegation, on Tuesday warned that India's aggressive actions pose a serious threat to peace in South Asia and urged the international community to take note of India's aggressive conduct. Bilawal was addressing a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on recent regional developments after the military conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani delegation is in New York to present Pakistan’s stance on the military escalation with India and to challenge New Delhi’s narrative at the global level. The visit is part of Pakistan’s sustained diplomatic outreach to brief key UN stakeholders on the alarming regional situation. The Pakistani delegation is also scheduled to arrive in Washington today, where it plans to engage with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, other senior officials, lawmakers, and think tanks till June 6. The team will also visit London and Brussels. Speaking at the press conference, Bilawal said that he wanted to use the opportunity to share Pakistan’s perspective on the recent military conflict with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and the way forward. Bilawal said that the “illegal strikes” launched by India as part of its ‘Operation Sindoor’ were “in violation of the UN Charter, international law”. He said the attacks had targeted civilian infrastructure, places of worship, energy infrastructure and innocent women and children. He said India had used the April 22 terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam as a pretext to launch the attack inside Pakistan. Following the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered publicly to India that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial international investigation into this attack. “We did so because we were confident, our hands were clean and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. “We expressed our sympathy with the victims of terrorism and Pakistan has consistently and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said, adding that PM Sharif had immediately expressed Pakistan’s willingness to India and the global community to be part of any impartial international investigation. “Indian government refused Pakistan's offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes. Pakistan only then acted in self-defence, we never initiated any violence against India,” Bilawal said. Bilawal emphasised that Pakistan never initiated hostilities against India but responded to Indian aggression by downing six Indian fighter jets. "The Pakistani military had responded with precision the night of the first Indian attack and only targeted and downed six planes because we believed those were the ones to release their load on Pakistan”. He stated that US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio played a vital role in achieving a ceasefire during heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours. “We’ve seen during the course of this conflict how quickly the escalation ladder between our two countries rose and the concern is that the next time there is such an incident, there may not be time for the international community to intervene before things get a lot worse. That is why it is absolutely important for Pakistan and the international community to continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable path to peace.” He said Pakistan’s position was to hold a “comprehensive dialogue” with India that would include the issue of terrorism as well. The head of the Pakistani delegation said that no civilized nation can support the use of water as a weapon and urged the international community to play its part, questioning, "What would be the global reaction if someone’s lifeline was cut off?" He stressed that Pakistan has paid a heavy price in the fight against terrorism and has suffered the most. “The single largest number of terrorist attacks that take place in any one country is Pakistan. The single largest number of victims of terrorism is Pakistan. I myself have suffered at the hands of terrorists. My mother [Benazir Bhutto] was assassinated by the terrorists.” Bilawal also criticised India for targeting water reservoirs and civilian areas, including mosques, during its attacks. Calling negotiations the only path to peace, Bilawal reiterated that the unresolved Kashmir dispute remains the root cause of regional instability. He urged the global community to take notice of India’s aggressive conduct.](https://wenewsenglish.com/storage/2025/06/Bilawal-Bhutto-Zardari-300x180.jpg)
