Many acres of paddy being reaped in Arakan State were destroyed by a cyclone and heavy downpour that unexpectedly hit the region on 11 December, with 70-mile per hour winds, said farmers in several areas of Arakan State.

A farmer from Mray Bon told Narinjara over the phone that people in the area did not expect another cyclone to hit the area so soon after the large Cyclone Giri. A cyclone suddenly hit several areas of Arakan State on the evening 11 December with winds up to 70 miles per hour.

Paddy in the fields was damaged as well as harvested paddy on threshing grounds throughout the coastal areas of Arakan.

"This is the harvest time for our paddy farms. Because of the cyclone, many reaping paddy farms were damaged. Many sheafs of paddy that had piled up on the paddy threshing grounds were also damaged by the storm," he said.

According to local sources, a phone tower erected in Mray Bon Township was brought down by the storm and heavy rains. The tower had only been standing for 30 days after authorities re-erected it after Cyclone Giri struck the area on 22 October.

"All phone connection was stopped after the tower was broken. We received phone connections only yesterday, but the telephone line in downtown Mray Bon is still inactive," the farmer said.

Several acres of paddy farms in several townships, including Manaung, Kyauk Pru, Min Bya, Pauktaw, and Sittwe Townships were destroyed by the storm's heavy wind and downpours.

A farmer from Sar Chet Village in Manaung Township said that in Manaung, there was no storm but there were heavy downpours nonstop for two days. Much paddy in the paddy threshing ground was damaged by the rain as farmers were unable to store the paddy safely in places such as the godowns, because those were also damaged by Cyclone Giri.

In Manaung Township, other crops like groundnuts and vegetables were also damaged by the nonstop heavy rain and wind from 9 to 11 December.

According to a FAO report, there are over 97,126 hectares of paddy farms that were severely damaged by Cyclone Giri, which amounts to half of all the paddy farm acreage in Arakan.

Paddy farms in Arakan State suffered damage three times during this year's paddy season. First, many paddy farms were damaged by a tidal surge of saltwater on the full moon day in the month of Tan Saung Mon on the Burmese calendar. Cyclone Giri then struck and further damaged many paddy farms in the state. This most recent, sudden, cyclone is the third attack the paddy farms have faced, damaging many more fields and crops with heavy winds and rain.

The paddy crop in Arakan State this season will be severely diminished due to the three natural disasters that have struck this year.