The prices of basic foodstuffs and other goods including building materials and fuel have in some cases doubled following the cyclone, which made landfall near Sittwe on Sunday.

The AA has urged foreign countries, including fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and international aid agencies to help cyclone-hit people as quickly as possible.

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

“People who fail to evacuate because they are worried about their belongings may be prosecuted under the Natural Disaster Management Law,” U Hla Thein wrote on Facebook.

Bus fares on Friday increased from 15,000 kyats per head to 40,000 kyats as many people are flocking to the ancient royal capital, which lies higher above sea level.

Shopkeepers at the central market have been shifting their stocks for fear that they will be damaged by either wind, rain or flooding.

“AA members have come and helped those who don’t have their own motorboats evacuate. I saw AA members also providing healthcare services for elderly persons. Almost the entire island has been evacuated now,”

“We’ve taken note of the impending storm. The government has not informed us about the storm yet. The IDP shelters are damaged, so they won’t be able to withstand the storm. The Muslim IDPs are worried about their safety,” 

Break-ins have continued despite the fact that the township development committee has assigned night watchmen to the market.

An Arakan State-based company has won national-level awards for its products in a competition in which micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) contested.

“I arrived at downtown Labutta this morning. I felt a similar experience when Cyclone Nargis hit Ayeyarwady Region in 2008. My wife died and my leg was broken.

A depression in the Bay of Bengal intensified into a cyclonic storm on May 11, and is expected to make landfall along the Arakan coast on May 14, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.

In March, the UN agency reduced the monthly allowance from US$12 to US$10 per refugee. As of June, the agency will only provide US$8 per month.

The Rakhine State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RSCCI) and an Indian delegation led by India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways met at Sittwe Hotel on Tuesday.

Locals are participating in environmental protection activities, but on the other hand, due to illegal logging, the forests are slowly being destroyed.

“They are currently held at Ranong police station and are being questioned by the police. They have not been sued yet. They came to Thailand for work and we don’t know in detail,” said U Zayar Kyaw, who is assisting the detained Myanmar nationals.

Six undocumented Chinese nationals were arrested at a junta security checkpoint near the Thanlwin Bridge in Mawlamyine, Mon State, on Monday, according to sources close to the state’s police force.

Some 3,400 villagers from nine coastal villages in Arakan State’s Pauktaw and Myebon townships have evacuated their homes in response to an impending storm currently brewing in the Bay of Bengal.

Locals say man-made lakes are being dug in Minbya, Mrauk-U, Ponnagyun and Rathedaung townships on a self-reliant basis in an attempt to address water scarcity in the coming years.