Early warnings from weather agencies and better preparedness by local governments and aid agencies likely saved thousands of lives during a powerful cyclone that slammed into Bangladesh and Myanmar over the weekend. But there are concerns about a large number of people still unaccounted for in areas where preparations were lacking.
At the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, thousands of Rohingya from Myanmar were moved to safer areas until Cyclone Mocha passed. But at camps for displaced Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where the storm hit harder, the presence of aid agencies is spotty and help from the country’s military government negligible. Only about two dozen deaths have been reported by media in Myanmar, but many people remain missing from the camps, which were reportedly heavily damaged by storm surges.