Rain and stormy wind in St Martin since morning as first blow of Cyclone Mocha hits

The first blow of Cyclone Mocha has begun to affect St Martin island as stormy wind is blowing with rain since this mornig.

"People who took shelter in centres and hotels at night came out in the morning. We are telling them to return to safety," UP member of ward no 4 of St Martin Najir Hossain told The Business Standard (TBS) on Sunday (14 May) morning. 

Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Kamruzzaman told TBS: "A total of 2 lakh 28 thousand 25 people have taken shelter in 636 centres in Cox's Bazar district. Among them, 6,000 people are staying in 37 shelters in St Martin."

Yamin, a resident of ward no 6 in St Martin, told TBS, "People are returning home since the morning even though they were in the shelters at night. Many are taking the cattle to safer places. People fear floods more than storms. Because if there is a two to three feet tide here, a portion of the island will sink."

As the day progressed and the cyclone inched near the island, the speed of win began to go up.

"Incomparably strong winds. Blowing up the wet sand. Tide is also approaching. Maybe the network will go down in a while," said Tayeb Ullah, a resident of St Martin, told TBS on Sunday afternoon. 

Meteorologists say the first and most powerful blow of the supercyclone will hit St Martin. The average height of the island is only 3.6 meters and the island is also threatened with high tides of 15-20 feet.

Earlier on Saturday (13 May), Bangladesh Meteorological Department said that cyclone Mokha is concentrated in the north-north-east direction and is staying in the same area.

It is located 490km south and south-west of Chittagong seaport, 410km south and south-west of Cox's Bazar seaport, 530km south and south-west of Mongla seaport and 460km south and south-west of Payra seaport.

Maximum sustained wind speed 190km/h within 74km of the cyclone's centre; Which increases up to 210km in the form of gusts or stormy winds. The ocean is very rough.

The cyclone is likely to cross the Cox's Bazar-North Myanmar coast between 9am and 3pm on Sunday, moving north and northeast and intensifying.