Sittwe: Rain came to Arakan State at long last, particularly in the Sittwe area, in the company of Cyclone Laila, but the worst of the storm bypassed Arakan and hit Chennai, India, at maximum wind speeds of about 80 kilometers per hour.

"We heard that a deep depression over nearby areas of the Bay of Bengal had intensified in to Cyclone, a Laila, but the cyclone moved to India. Now rain has come to our town after the cyclone bypassed our state. We are happy because the temperature has dropped and our water supply is no longer scarce," said a youth from Sittwe.

Many townspeople in Sittwe came out on the streets to get drenched in the rain to cool off.

"People wanted rain, and the rain came. So we are happy. If there was no rain until now we would be unable to survive because we couldn't sleep at night given the temperatures and we had insufficient water in our town," the man said.

In Sittwe, the capital of Arakan, the authorities supply three hours of electricity per night. During that time, people can stay inside their homes with fans on. After the electricity supply is cut, people come outside their homes for fresh air.

"The temperature is very high this summer, so many ponds and wells have dried up in Sittwe. So the authorities could not supply water from the Kandaw Gyi reservoir because it had already dried up," he said.

People in Sittwe are suffering from a shortage of water and high temperatures for several weeks, and were eagerly awaiting the rain.

The rain started in Sittwe in the evening of May 18 and it also rained in the city yesterday.

However, some townships in Arakan, including Mrauk U, Kyauktaw, and Buthidaung are still waiting for rain and continue to suffer from the hot weather and low water supply.