Residents in six townships along the Arakan State coast were being evacuated Tuesday ahead of the arrival of a storm system bringing strong winds and heavy rain, according to the Arakan State military council.
Locals from Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, Ramree, Taungup, Thandwe and Gwa townships were being moved to safer locations as the storm, which began as a deep depression in the Andaman Sea and southeastern Bay of Bengal, made landfall in Ayeyarwady Region on Tuesday.
“We have asked local people in coastal townships to move to safe places or cyclone shelters if there is any,” said Arakan State military council spokesman U Hla Thein.
Preparations have been made to evacuate 17,939 people from 45 village-tracts along the coast in Kyaukphyu District, said the assistant director of the district General Administration Department, U Tin Tun Aung.
Almost 3,000 people from Kyaukphyu, Ramree and Manaung townships had been evacuated to nearby cyclone shelters, monasteries and schools by noon Tuesday, he said.
“Nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated, and more are being evacuated. We have also prepared rice, oil, salt and medicine for them. We are mainly evacuating village-tracts along the coast that are likely to be hit by the storm,” he said.
Internally displaced people (IDPs) from some IDP camps in Sittwe had also been evacuated as of Tuesday morning, said Sittwe Township administrator U Kyaw Lwin.
“We have been evacuating them onto hills since this morning. I still don’t know the exact number of people being evacuated. We are mainly evacuating the senior citizens and children,” said the administrator.
Locals from Thandwe and Gwa townships told DMG on Tuesday at about noon that it was raining with strong wind.
The Arakan State military council said that it has made 57 cyclone shelters ready in some townships along the Arakan coast.
Heavy rains are expected across much of the country due to the depression, with possible storm surges of 6 to 8 feet as the storm crosses Ayeyarwady Region. The depression has not, however, strengthened into a cyclone as many forecasters had predicted.
