Rural communities affected by Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State’s Pauktaw, Sittwe, Rathedaung, Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Gwa townships have so far received little relief aid.

A DMG reporter saw broken and completely destroyed trees in Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships, and the Mayu mountain range in Rathedaung and Maungdaw townships, after the storm hit Arakan State.

Power outages are taking a heavy toll on local people and businesses affected by the cyclone.

Not enough aid has arrived in Sittwe and Rathedaung townships, which suffered the most damage, more than a week after the storm hit Arakan State, according to residents.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) whose houses were destroyed by Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township urgently need relief supplies and healthcare services.

Lakes and other reservoirs in the villages were flooded with saltwater, and the storm victims say they urgently need clean drinking water and healthcare services.

More than 70,000 acres of sesame fields were ruined by flooding triggered by Cyclone Mocha in Magway Region, with financial losses totaling around 18 billion kyats, according to local sesame growers.  

Ayeyarwady Bank, one of the largest private banks in Myanmar, is providing loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by Cyclone Mocha, which made landfall with destructive force near the Arakan State capital Sittwe on May 14.

“Farmers have lost everything and can’t farm without paddy seeds. I don’t know what the farmers will do in the coming rainy season,”

The state military council said that a water purifier is capable of purifying natural water drawn from sources like Sittwe’s Sat Yoe Kya Creek, purifying 15-20 litres an hour and providing enough for 100 people per day.

A man was killed after a water tanker truck heading to Pi Pin Yin camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township overturned on Monday evening, according to IDPs.

Cyclone victims are in need of food supplies, drinking water and medicines, and the homeless also urgently need tarpaulin sheets, bamboo, and nipa palm to assemble temporary shelters.

There are 178 villages across 58 village-tracts in Pauktaw Township, with the cyclone affecting over 100 villages within 46 village-tracts, including killing thousands of cattle.

Thousands of schools in Sittwe, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Pauktaw, Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships have been damaged or destroyed by the cyclonic storm, according to a DMG field survey. 

“Some of the newly renovated ancient buildings and walls were damaged by the storm. Some roofs at the Koe Thaung Pagoda were badly damaged by the storm.”

At least 18,000 homes from 115 villages in Mrauk-U Township, Arakan State, were damaged or destroyed last week by Cyclone Mocha, said an official from the township General Administration Department office.

Storm victims and social organisations say Myanmar’s military regime urgently needs to ratchet up deliveries of the food and medical provisions donated by India to Cyclone Mocha victims in Myanmar.

“The storm came as another blow to us, who are already suffering from armed conflicts. For now, we need houses and rice as well as drinking water and toilets,”

The NUG donated K100 million, Kachin Independence Organization gave K300 million,