The official death toll from Myanmar’s powerful cyclone has risen to at least 145, including 117 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority group.
State media said Friday that the statistic referred to the western state of Rakhine, where Cyclone Mocha caused the most damage, but did not specify how many storm-related deaths occurred elsewhere in the country.
Due in part to communication issues in the afflicted areas and the military government’s strict information control, the accounting of the cyclone casualties has been slow.
Uncertainty regarding the true scope of casualties and destruction persists in the absence of independent proof, despite the military government’s claim that unofficial death tolls over 400 are untrue.
With winds of up to 130 mph, Mocha made landfall in Sittwe township in Rakhine state on Sunday afternoon before weakening inland.
The cyclone, which was the most damaging to hit the country in at least ten years, caused extensive flash floods and power outages, and its strong winds tore off roofs of structures and brought down cellphone towers.
Millions of people live in the cyclone’s path, and a massive effort is now underway to clear debris and provide shelter to those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated on Thursday that coastal Rakhine took the heaviest hit from the cyclone, with severe impacts across the northwest and some damage in Kachin.
Friday’s report said four soldiers and 24 local residents in Rakhine, in addition to the 117 Rohingya, had been killed. It blamed the deaths on people refusing to evacuate their homes despite warnings from the authorities before the storm hit.
