WFP gears up actions ahead of cyclone Mocha

The World Food Program (WFP) on Saturday issued a ‘Note to Correspondents’ regarding the cyclone Mocha which may strike on northern townships of Rakhine State and some areas of Bangladesh.

“WFP is closely monitoring the cyclone, which is expected to make landfall this Sunday in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Emergency preparedness is underway in areas likely to be in the cyclone’s trajectory,” said a press note.

Quoting  WFP’s Myanmar deputy country director Ms Sheela Matthew the report said that they were preparing for the worst, while hoping for the best.

“Cyclone Mocha is heading to areas burdened by conflict, poverty, and weak community resilience. Many of the people most likely to be affected are already reliant on regular humanitarian assistance from WFP. They simply cannot afford another disaster,” added the report.

WFP is also gearing up for a large-scale emergency response, putting in place contingency plans, and prepositioning food and relief supplies, vehicles, and emergency equipments.

It has prepositioned enough food to cover the needs of more than 4,00,000 people in Rakhine State including the neighboring areas for one month, added the press note.

Anticipating interruptions to transport and telecommunication services, the WFP teams are also putting in place the systems to serve the broader humanitarian community with their preparations and potential response to the cyclone.

The press note said that unimpeded humanitarian access to and support from communities in need will be critical in responding to any immediate impacts of the cyclone and for the long-term recovery process.

According to local sources, thousands of Arakanese people have been evacuated to safer places to prevent damage by the cyclone Mocha before a day of its landfall between northern Arakan and southern part of Bangladesh.

Mocha may move to the north & northeast in the next few hours and it may reach the center of the Bay of Bengal. Once emerged as a severe cyclonic storm, it may make landfall between  Bangladesh’s Cox's Bazar and Myanmar’s Kyaukphyu on 14 May, stated the Myanmar meteorological and hydrology department.