Myanmar and Bangladesh Cyclone
Cyclone Mocha has had a devastating impact on the lives of millions of vulnerable refugees in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Your support today can help provide urgent support to communities affected by the cyclone.
What is the impact of Cyclone Mocha?
A powerful category five cyclone has hit the coastlines of Bangladesh and Myanmar, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
- More than 1,300 bamboo shelters in Cox's Bazar, the world's largest refugee camp, have been destroyed.
- At least 40 people have been reported dead in Myanmar, with fears that the deaths may number over 400.
- 400,000 people were evacuated from the cyclone's path.
Caritas Australia's partners are responding to support cyclone-affected communities who need immediate assistance.
Your generous support to the appeal can help provide emergency support to help families recover and rebuild from disaster.
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What is the impact for refugees in Bangladesh?
Approximately one million Rohingya are currently living in Cox's Bazar, the largest refugee camp in the world.
Bangladesh’s government had evacuated people ahead of the storm, but Rohingya refugees are not allowed to leave the camps or build permanent structures. This means that the flimsy bamboo and tarpaulin structures are vulnerable to extreme weather, and refugees had few places to take shelter from the storm.
So far, more than 1,300 shelters in Cox’s Bazar have been reported as destroyed or damaged, as well as 16 mosques and learning centres, however there are no immediate reports of casualties.
There are also concerns for hundreds of Rohingya refugees housed on island facility in the Bay of Bengal, called Bhasan Char, which is highly flood-prone.
Before the cyclone, food rations for Rohingya people in Cox’s Bazar had been reduced due to funding cuts, and 16,000 refugees had lost their homes in a devastating fire in March.
What is the impact for displaced communities in Myanmar?
Before the cyclone, at least 6 million people were in need of humanitarian support in Myanmar. Around 1.2 million were displaced across Rakhine state and the northwest of Myanmar (OCHA).
People in Rakhine have suffered years of conflict and displacement, with hundreds of thousands of people confined to temporary camps where their movements are restricted.
You can help support the response to Cyclone Mocha
Access to clean water
Emergency shelter for displaced families
Cash assistance to vulnerable families
Food rations for flood-affected families
When was the worst cyclone in Myanmar?
In 2008, Cyclone Nargis made landfall in Myanmar, killing a devastating 84,500 people. Another 53,800 people went missing.
The UN estimates that as many as 2.4 million people were affected by Cyclone Nargis, and caused around $12 billion in damage, making t one of the costliest and deadliest cyclones in the region.
How to help people impacted by Cyclone Mocha
Your donation to the Cyclone Mocha appeal will help provide food distribution, shelter and cash assistance.
Women and children are especially vulnerable.
Donate to the Cyclone Mocha appeal now to help provide urgent food, water, shelter and cash assistance.
Where does my donation go?
The funds raised through this appeal will be used to provide immediate and longer-term humanitarian assistance to communities affected by crises in Myanmar and Bangladesh. If any funds remain after a crisis, or if there are changes in circumstances beyond our control which limit our ability to use the funds, they are kept in the Asia Regional Appeal so that we can respond to ongoing development needs and future crises in the region.