With caution, St Martin’s Island braces for Cyclone Mocha

Inhabitants of St Martin's Island, which is on the path of Cyclone Mocha, have already started moving to safer places.

Cyclone Mocha is expected to hit land on Sunday with wind speeds of up to 160 kilometres (100 miles) per hour and gusts up to 175 kph (110 mph) between Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu in Myanmar, India's Meteorological Department said.

Locals said around 300 people left the island fearing damage due to Cyclone Mocha.

Those, who came to the island from outside, have already left. And the permanent residents are preparing to shift to safe shelters there, said locals.

"We have taken all kinds of preparation to face the impact of Cyclone Mocha. We have gathered a sufficient amount of dry food," said Mujibur Rahman, chairman of St Martin's Union Parishad.

Photo: Collected

"There are around 10 thousand people living here. We have arranged safe accommodation for them," he said.

The fishing trawlers which went to the sea for fishing started returning to the shore. Some trawlers have taken shelter at Bakkhali river and Moheshkhali channel.

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"We don't know how hard the cyclone will hit us. We are in a state of panic. We have relocated our fishing nets trawlers to safer places," said Abdul Goni, a fisherman in Cox's Bazar.

"The sea has already become rough. But many fishing trawlers are still in the sea. They are now trying to return to the shore," he told The Daily Star.