Foothills of the powerful cyclone "Mocha" have made landfall on Myanmar's west coast and have caused initial devastation in the crisis-stricken country. The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) has put the cyclone on red alert and expects destructive wind speeds of up to 259 kilometers per hour in Myanmar and neighboring Bangladesh. "Mocha" had been gaining more and more strength over the Bay of Bengal for days.

"The storm has been raging since the morning and is getting stronger and stronger," said Kan Aung, a man from the city of Sittwe, who is reporting on the current situation of the storm with a local team. According to calculations, Sittwe and large parts of Rakhine State are exactly on the route of the storm.

"Mocha" has not yet reached its highest strength. "We see how trees fall and small huts are damaged, but larger houses are still standing," said 21-year-old Kan Aung of the German Press Agency on Sunday morning (local time). Telephone lines and Internet connections have already been interrupted near the coast.

Sittwe is located only about 180 kilometers southeast of the city of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, which is also likely to be hit hard. Around one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live there in makeshift shelters. Many had been evacuated in advance. People were urged to stay away from the coasts, where violent tidal waves were expected. According to GDACS, a total of up to 3.1 million people could be affected.

Many in the region are afraid that "Mocha" could have such terrible consequences as Cyclone "Nargis" 15 years ago: On May 2 and 3, 2008, the tropical storm in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta was estimated to have killed almost 140,000 people. The devastation was enormous. "The families here are afraid," Kan Aung said. "The storm will probably be as powerful as 'Nargis', we can only pray."