“The high officials ordered security forces to arrange vehicles to transport the Buddhists living near the mountainside (southern Maungdaw) to monasteries and high school in Maungdaw (centre), but there is no plan for Muslim Rohingya living near the Bay of Bengal and by the riverside.”

They have also made arrangements to transport Buddhists for the northern parts of the city to safe houses in the centre of the city, according to the administration officer.

Mra Aung, a member of the Rakhine State Parliament, called a meeting at the district administration office, to discuss how to protect civilians, but saving Muslim Rohingyas was not on the agenda.

The Maungdaw Rakhine communities are currently being registered for shelters where they will get rations and medical assistance, but not for Rohingyas, said Annu, a trader from Maungdaw.

Rohingyas who were asked to move to another location were suspicious about whether it would be safer than where they already were. They were given no details about where they would be moved to or what provisions would be taken to ensure their safety by southern Maungdaw army personnel.

In a statement issued on May 13 by Isabelle Arradon, the deputy Asia Pacific director of Amnesty International in the past the “government has been repeatedly warned to make appropriate arrangements for those displaced in Rakhine (Arakan) state. Now thousands of lives are at stake unless targeted action is taken immediately to assist those most at risk."

There are about 140,000 displaced people living in makeshift shelters in Arakan state - the majority is Rohingya Muslims, according to UN estimates.

Brad Adams, the Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said that if the government fails to evacuate those at risk "any disaster that results will not be natural but man-made". But some are refusing to leave because out of fear that their situation will worsen. There is also mistrust towards the security personnel that have been placed in charge of the relocation operation.

"We are very worried about the cyclone... we do not have enough food to eat,"one Rohingya told the Agence France Presse.  

 “Humanitarian agencies have reminded the authorities that keeping families together during the evacuation is essential,” according to a UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA report that was issued on May 13.

Vulnerable families and individuals should be prioritized. Temporary relocation and evacuation of IDPs to safer locations must not result in forced returns nor further exacerbate vulnerabilities, said the report.

As the cyclone approaches some Rohingya families are trying to take matters into their own hands, and with dire consequences. Several days ago a boat carrying about 100 people capsized after hitting rocks near Pauktaw Township. At least 8 people have been confirmed dead. Forty-two people have been recovered, but fifty are still missing and feared to have been killed when the vessel sank according to OCHA official James Munn.