Typhoon Moka killed more than 80 people in Myanmar

Cyclone Moka claimed more than 80 lives as it passed through Burma. That's according to the latest tally by authorities in the Southeast Asian nation, where affected residents have started rebuilding their homes and awaiting the arrival of aid.

Typhoon Mocha made landfall on Sunday with winds of up to 195 km/h, knocking down power lines and destroying fishing boats. At least 46 people were killed in the villages of Bu Ma and nearby Khaung Doke Kar in Rakhine state, home to the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, local leaders told AFP.

Thirteen people also died when a monastery collapsed in a village in Rathedaung township, north of Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, and a woman died when a building collapsed in a neighboring village, according to Myanmar broadcaster MRTV. "There will be more deaths because more than a hundred people are missing," said Carlo, a community leader from Bu Ma village.

The latest estimates by the country's ruling military junta on Monday put five people dead and the number of injured yet to be determined.

indescribable pain

Near Bu Ma village, Aa Bul Hu Son, a 66-year-old man prayed at the grave of his daughter, whose body was found Tuesday morning. "I wasn't well before the typhoon, so it took a long time for us to move elsewhere," he told AFP. "When we thought about evacuating, the waves immediately came and washed us away," said the resident.

The man said he found his daughter's body in the village lake and buried her immediately. "I have no words to express my loss," he said. Other residents roam the coast looking for relatives who were swept away by the storm that accompanied the typhoon.

Typhoon Mocha was the most violent to hit the area in a decade. It uprooted trees and cut communications across large parts of Rakhine State. It also destroyed Rohingya villages and camps.

According to a statement published on the Facebook page of the Beijing Embassy in Myanmar, China said it was "ready to provide emergency assistance in the event of a disaster."

China says 'ready to provide emergency assistance during disaster'

The Rohingya are considered outsiders in Myanmar because they are stateless, lack health care, and need permission to leave their villages in Rakhine. Some of these minorities live in refugee camps after decades of conflict.

storm blow

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was investigating several reports of Rohingya populations living in camps apparently being killed by the storms.

The UN office added that it was "working to launch a rapid needs assessment in the most affected areas" in Rakhine state. In Bangladesh, a neighboring country that borders Rakhine state to the north, authorities told AFP there were no casualties from the typhoon.

Moka passes near a camp housing nearly a million Rohingya who arrived from Myanmar fleeing a military crackdown in 2017. "While the impact of a typhoon could be much worse, the sandy areas of the refugee camps are badly affected and thousands of people are in dire need." aid," the UN said in an urgent message on the Monday Appeal.