Cyclone Mocha: Bangladesh’s St Martin’s island may go underwater temporarily

As Cyclone Mocha intensifies and winds are getting stronger, Saint Martin’s, the one and only coral island of Bangladesh, may go temporarily underwater, according to the head of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), reported Dhaka Tribune.

“Since there is no major infrastructure on the island, the storm will not get obstructed anywhere and hit the island directly. As the centre of the storm passes over St Martin’s, water will move from one side of the island to the other, and due to the intensity of the storm, the island may be underwater for some time,” BMD Director Md Azizur Rahman said on Sunday. He added, “But the water will not stay still; it may also move away. The situation depends entirely on the speed of the storm.”

Meteorologist Shahinul Islam stated the bulk and centre of the storm would pass over Myanmar and the rest would lash Cox’s Bazar coast, as per Dhaka Tribune.
In its morning bulletin, the BMS said that very severe cyclonic storm Mocha over east-central Bay and adjoining areas had moved north-northeastwards, intensified over northeast Bay and adjoining areas and was centred at 6 am about 385 km south-southwest of Chittagong port, 305 km south-southwest of Cox’s Bazar port, 450km south of Mongla port and 370km south of Payra port.The peripheral effect of Cyclone Mocha began on Sunday morning over the coastal areas of Chattorgram and Barishal divisions, according to the latest bulletin of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).