Cyclone Mocha has apparently claimed many more lives in Myanmar than previously thought. At least 400 people were killed in the tropical cyclone in the state of Rakhine on the west coast, said a spokesman for the "National Unity Government" (NUG) on Tuesday of the dpa. The dead are mainly members of the Rohingya Muslim minority, which has been persecuted for decades in the former Burma – which is primarily Buddhist. It was the most violent cyclone in the region in more than a decade.

The "National Unity Government" is a kind of democratic shadow government that formed after the military coup of 2021 as an alternative to the ruling junta. In the run-up to the event, she had already tried to warn people about the cyclone and to organise international aid for the victims.

Wind speeds of more than 250 kilometers per hour

The tropical cyclone made landfall on Sunday with wind speeds of more than 250 kilometers per hour in Myanmar and neighboring Bangladesh. However, the full extent of the damage is only slowly becoming clear.

The news site "The Irrawaddy" also reported at least 400 deaths in Rohingya camps around the city of Sittwe. Many were drowned or killed by falling trees. Since the coup, many more displaced people have been living in makeshift shelters in the region due to ongoing violence by the junta. Many people would hardly have been able to protect themselves from the violent gusts of wind and heavy rain.

In Bangladesh, many people have been evacuated to safety

The aid organization Oxfam had previously said that the storm had a "huge impact" on the lives of internally displaced people. "We call on the international community to provide the necessary resources to enable them to live in dignity."

In Myanmar and Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands had been brought to safety as a precaution before the storm. In Bangladesh, this apparently saved many lives: According to the authorities, no deaths have been reported so far. Nevertheless, the damage around the town of Cox's Bazar is considerable. Around one million Rohingya refugees live in the world's largest collection of refugee camps, mostly in dwellings made of bamboo and plastic tarpaulins. Thousands need help there, the United Nations said.

The powerful tropical storm had awakened memories of the destructive cyclone "Nargis" 15 years ago: In May 2008, it was estimated to have killed almost 140,000 people in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta.