Cyclone Mora kills five, damages thousands of homes in Bangladesh

Cyclone Mora has killed five people in Bangladesh, damaging thousands of homes and destroying a refugee camp housing thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Myanmar.

Nearly 600,000 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas to cyclone shelters, schools and offices before the storm battered the coastal district of Cox's Bazar at the speed of 135 kilometers (84 miles) per hour early Tuesday.

The local officials also called in all fishing vessels and advised them to remain anchored, as the country raised its highest number 10 weather danger alert.

Apart from the Rohingya shelters, at least 17,000 homes were damaged and many low-lying villages were inundated by a 1.3-meter (four feet) storm surge, officials said.

Some of the worst damage affected the 300,000 Rohingya refugees living in Cox's Bazar who have fled ethnic violence by extremist Buddhists and a heavy-handed crackdown by the country’s military.

The cyclone Mora makes landfall in the coastal district of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh on May 30, 2017. (Photo by Daily Star)

At Kutupalong camp, which houses thousands of Rohingyas, 60-70 percent of the plastic roofs have been blown away and some mud walls have collapsed, but the refugees started repairing their shelters as the storm has weakened.

Some of the Rohingyas said there had been no attempt to evacuate the undocumented refugees, but the authorities said the camps were not evacuated as they were located in hilly areas which were unlikely to be inundated by storm surge.

In neighboring India, the National Disaster Management Authority warned of strong winds and heavy rain across much of northeastern areas and advised fishermen in the eastern coastal state of West Bengal bordering Bangladesh to stay in port.

The cyclone is expected to weaken as it crosses India.

Bangladesh is routinely hit by bad storms between April and December that cause deaths and widespread property damage.

Cyclone Mora takes place days after heavy rains in Sri Lanka claimed the lives of at least 193 people, many of whom buried under landslides, and caused the most severe flooding in 14 years.

In May last year, Cyclone Roanu hit the southern coast of Bangladesh leaving 20 people dead and forcing half a million to flee their homes.

Flash floods and excessive rain led to landslides in hilly areas, which caused most of the casualties.