WATCH: Deadly Cyclone Mocha Lashes Myanmar, Bangladesh, Causes Widespread Destruction
(Photo : SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Approximately 1,000 people were rescued in Myanmar, where a cyclone Mocha had injured hundreds and severed communications.

On Monday, rescuers evacuated approximately 1,000 people stranded by seawater 3.6 meters (12 feet) deep along the western coast of Myanmar, after a powerful cyclone caused hundreds of injuries and severed communications.

In one of Asia's least industrialized nations, six fatalities have been reported, but the true impact is not yet known.

Cyclone Mocha Batters Myanmar, Bangladesh

A leader of the Rakhine Youths Philanthropic Association in Sittwe reported that more than 700 of the approximately 20,000 people who were sheltering in monasteries, pagodas, and schools on the highlands of Sittwe township were injured by strong gusts.

As cyclone Mocha made landfall in Rakhine state on Sunday afternoon, seawater rushed into more than ten low-lying districts close to the coast, he reported. As the wind and storm surge precluded immediate rescue, residents fled to roofs and upper floors, AP News reported.

Monday evening, water levels in flooded areas were approximately 1.5 meters (five feet) high, but rescues were being conducted as the wind died down and the sun ascended. He requested that civil society organizations and authorities send aid and assist with the evacuation of residents.

Myanmar media and rescue agencies have reported six fatalities. In neighboring Bangladesh, which was spared the predicted direct impact, several injuries were reported.

Cyclone Mocha made landfall near the township of Sittwe with winds of up to 209 kilometers per hour, according to the Myanmar Meteorological Department. The India Meteorological Department reported that by Monday midday, it had weakened to a tropical depression.

One of the strongest cyclones to ever strike Myanmar has severed communications with coastal areas, and aid organizations warn that initial reports indicate "extensive" damage.

A video from the conflict-torn Rakhine state showed strong surges of wind uprooting trees.
People can be seen huddled in makeshift shelters, but the full extent of the storm's damage is still unknown due to communication difficulties in the region.

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The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that due to the ongoing severe weather in Rakhine and disruptions in telecommunications, it has not been feasible to assess the entire scope of the disaster.

Early reports, however, indicate that the damage is extensive and that the needs of already vulnerable communities, especially displaced people, will be great.

Prior to the storm, assistance organizations in Myanmar and neighboring Bangladesh initiated a massive cyclone Mocha would strike Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, where approximately one million stateless Rohingya reside.

Per CNN, the last cyclone of comparable intensity to make landfall was tropical cyclone Giri in October 2010. It made landfall as a Category 4 cyclone with maximal winds of 250 kilometers per hour (155 mph).

Over 150 people were killed by Giri, and approximately 70 percent of the city of Kyaukphyu was devastated. According to the United Nations, the storm destroyed approximately 15,000 dwellings in the province of Rakhine.

In neighboring Bangladesh, which was spared the predicted direct impact, several injuries were reported.

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Cyclone Mocha Cuts Myanmar Communications

According to ABC News, high winds collapsed cell phone towers, but local media captured footage of deep water rushing through streets and wind ripping off roofs before communications were lost.

The military information office of Myanmar reported that residences and electrical transformers in Sittwe, Kyaukpyu, and Gwa townships were damaged by the typhoon. It was reported that roofs had been torn off structures on the Coco Islands, located approximately 425 kilometers (264 miles) southwest of Yangon, the main city in Myanmar.

Volunteers previously stated that shelters in Sittwe lacked sufficient sustenance due to the influx of more individuals seeking assistance. Early reports after Sunday's Category 4 landfall of cyclone Mocha in Myanmar's Rakhine state indicate "extensive devastation," according to the UN office for humanitarian aid.

Per AXIOS, the UN aid office added that "the needs of already vulnerable communities, notably displaced persons, will be great."

Before communications channels were disabled, online videos and photographs depicted structures and residences being battered by winds, roofs being torn off of buildings, and heavy rains. There were reports of storm surge inundation in low-lying areas of Rakhine state.

The UN estimated that more than 6 million people in Myanmar, including hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Rakhine state, were in need of humanitarian assistance before Sunday's typhoon.

The UN is urging the international community to finance its Myanmar humanitarian response plan, which was less than 10% funded prior to the cyclone. Coastal regions in the southeast of Bangladesh also experienced destructive winds and torrential rainfall.

Related Article: Cyclone Mocha Barrels Bangladesh, Myanmar, Threatens World's Largest Refugee Camp 

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