Residents begin to leave Saint Martin’s Island as Cyclone Mocha looms

More than 200 families moved to Teknaf from Saint Martin’s Island on Thursday and Friday

The residents of Saint Martin’s Island in Cox's Bazar have begun to leave home for the mainland as Cyclone Mocha approaches the coast after turning into a very severe cyclonic storm. 

The locals said more than 200 families moved to Teknaf from the island on Thursday and Friday. 

Many Islanders took trawlers to Shah Porir Dwip in Teknaf on Friday to move to relative safety from the cyclone. 

“We never left home during previous storms but the situation looks intense this year. Seven people from our family have moved to safety,” said Nur Jahan Begum, a resident of the island. 

“There is a tendency among some residents of moving to a relative's house in Teknaf if such a storm signal is issued. But the number is not too high,” said Muhammad Kamruzzaman, the chief executive of the Teknaf Upazila administration. 

He urged people to follow instructions while moving to safety instead of panicking. “We’ve prepared 17 storm shelters on Saint Martin’s Island. Hotels, resorts, schools and bungalows are also ready for evacuations.” 

Cyclone Preparedness Programme teams, Border Guard Bangladesh, the Coast Guard, the navy, police and local government representatives and village police were put on high alert, Kamruzzaman said.

Mocha, which was centred about 1,000 km away from the coast of Bangladesh, intensified into a “very severe” cyclonic storm on Friday. The cyclone is likely to continue to move north-northeastward on Saturday and intensify before crossing the coast between Cox's Bazar and Kyaukphyu Island in Myanmar by Sunday afternoon. 

Heavy rains and thunderstorms are expected in the bay areas on Saturday evening as the cyclone hurtles towards the coasts. The lower lands at the coasts may experience 2-2.7 metres higher tides than usual, which could cause flooding. 

“Usually, the Cox’s Bazar area is swept by a surge of 4-6 feet high above the normal tide during such storms. We are fearing the same this time,” said Abdur Rahman, an assistant meteorologist at Cox's Bazar Meteorological Office.

The Meteorological Department raised the warning signal by two notches to four for ports as the sea near the centre of the cyclone storm is very rough. 

All fishing boats and trawlers in the Bay of Bengal have been advised to take shelter immediately, according to the latest bulletin.

The locals said the weather in Cox’s Bazar has been cloudy and hot since Friday morning. The water level of the sea also began to rise. 

The local administration has taken measures to tackle the cyclone. Efforts are underway to prepare a total of 576 storm shelters across the district, Additional District Executive Magistrate Md Abu Sufian said.