DHAKA: Volunteers in Bangladesh’s coastal districts were using loudspeakers to urge people to seek shelter on Saturday as the delta nation braced for an extremely severe cyclone, which is expected to slam ashore in Bangladesh and Myanmar in the next 24 hours.
UN agencies and aid workers prepositioned tons of dry food and dozens of ambulances with mobile medical teams in sprawling refugee camps with more than 1 million Rohingya who fled persecution in Myanmar.
The camps at Cox’s Bazar are on the path of Cyclone Mocha, which was moving toward the coasts of southeastern Bangladesh and Myanmar with wind speeds of up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) per hour and gusts up to 220 kph (136 mph), the Indian Meteorological Department said. It’s projected to make landfall on Sunday evening between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu in Myanmar.
Bangladesh, with more than 160 million people, has prepared more than 1,500 cyclone shelters. The navy said it’s keeping ready 21 ships, maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters for rescue and relief operations.
Speaking from Cox’s Bazar, the International Organization of Migration’s deputy chief of mission, Nihan Erdogan, said Bangladesh put in place a massive preparedness plan.
He said his agency had trained 100 volunteers in each of the 17 refugee camps on how to alert rescuers using flag warning signals when heavy rains, floods and strong winds lash the region. “Emergency shelter materials and hygiene kits are readily available, and personal protective gear has been provided to all volunteers.”
The World Health Organization put 40 ambulances and 33 mobile medical teams on standby at Cox’s Bazar, the agency’s spokesperson Margaret Harris said.
Authorities in Bangladesh said heavy rains from the cyclone could trigger landslides in Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar and three other hilly districts — Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari.
Bangladesh, which is prone to natural disasters such as floods and cyclones, issued the highest danger signal for Cox’s Bazar. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department warned the cyclone could cause severe damage to the lives and properties in eight coastal districts.
Mizanur Rahman, director general of the Department of the Disaster Management, said they asked the local authorities in 20 districts and sub-districts to make swift preparations. He said they were particularly concerned about a small coral island called Saint Martins in the Bay of Bengal, where efforts were underway to protect thousands of inhabitants.
Myanmar said in its weather bulletin that the cyclone was moving toward the coast of Rakhine state near Sittwe, which was put under the highest weather alert.
The World Food Program said it prepositioned enough food to cover the needs of more than 400,000 people in Rakhine and neighboring areas for one month.
“We are preparing for the worst, while hoping for the best. Cyclone Mocha is heading to areas burdened by conflict, poverty, and weak community resilience,” said WFP’s Myanmar deputy director, Sheela Matthew. “Many of the people most likely to be affected are already reliant on regular humanitarian assistance from WFP. They simply cannot afford another disaster.”
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar with a storm surge that devastated populated areas around the Irrawaddy River Delta. At least 138,000 people died and tens of thousands of homes and other buildings were washed away.
Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune city, said cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are becoming more intense more quickly, in part because of climate change.
The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported on Friday that thousands of people living along the western coast of Rakhine state were evacuated.
Both Indian and Bangladesh authorities said they were expecting heavy to very heavy rainfall in Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Andaman Sea, parts of India’s remote northeast, and across Bangladesh from Saturday night.
Climate scientists say cyclones can now retain their energy for many days, such as Cyclone Amphan in eastern India in 2020, which continued to travel over land as a strong cyclone and caused extensive devastation. “As long as oceans are warm and winds are favorable, cyclones will retain their intensity for a longer period,” Koll said.
Cyclones are among the most devastating natural disasters in the world, especially if they affect densely populated coastal regions in South Asia.
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Thousands along Bangladesh, Myanmar coast told to seek shelter as powerful Cyclone Mocha approaches
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Thousands along Bangladesh, Myanmar coast told to seek shelter as powerful Cyclone Mocha approaches
- UN agencies and aid workers prepositioned tons of dry food and dozens of ambulances with mobile medical teams in sprawling refugee camps
- Bangladesh, with more than 160 million people, has prepared more than 1,500 cyclone shelters
Italy approves new migration bill including powers to impose ‘naval blockades’ on migrant ships
ROME: Italy’s conservative government led by Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday approved a bill introducing new measures aimed at fighting illegal immigration, including a so-called “naval blockade” for migrant ships trying to reach Italian shores.
A cabinet meeting in the late afternoon gave the go-ahead to the bill, which now needs to be discussed and approved in both chambers of parliament before becoming effective.
Italy’s new migration package — which also includes stricter surveillance at borders and cooperation with European agencies — comes a day after the approval of the new EU pact on migration and asylum, which Rome plans to implement swiftly.
The package includes new powers that would enable Italian authorities to impose a naval blockade on migrant ships trying to enter Italy’s territorial waters, under certain conditions.
Authorities can ban the crossing into Italian waters for up to 30 days, in cases in which the migrant ship poses “serious threats to public order or national security,” as in the concrete risk of terrorist acts or terrorist infiltration, the bill says. The blockade is extendable up to a maximum of six months.
It would also be possible to stop the ships from entering Italian waters in the case of a drastic influx in migrants that could jeopardize the secure management of borders.
Those violating the rules would face fines of up to 50,000 euros ($59,400) and would see their boats confiscated in the case of repeated violations, a measure that seems to target humanitarian rescue ships.
In those cases, the intercepted migrants could be “transported to third countries other than their country of origin, with which Italy has entered into specific agreements,” the bill says.
Under those rules, the Meloni government aims at restarting offshore processing hubs similar to the two controversial ones created in Albania, which have been substantially inactive for about two years due to legal hurdles.
These centers — a major effort by the Meloni government to manage migration flows — have constantly sparked debates about their legality and efficacy, raising strong opposition from humanitarian groups.
The Italian bill’s approval comes after European lawmakers on Tuesday voted to approve new immigration policies that allow nations to deny asylum and deport migrants because they either hail from a country designated safe or could apply for asylum in a country outside the 27-nation bloc.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani hailed the new rules on Tuesday, saying the confirmation from the European Parliament on the list of safe countries “proves Italy right.”
A cabinet meeting in the late afternoon gave the go-ahead to the bill, which now needs to be discussed and approved in both chambers of parliament before becoming effective.
Italy’s new migration package — which also includes stricter surveillance at borders and cooperation with European agencies — comes a day after the approval of the new EU pact on migration and asylum, which Rome plans to implement swiftly.
The package includes new powers that would enable Italian authorities to impose a naval blockade on migrant ships trying to enter Italy’s territorial waters, under certain conditions.
Authorities can ban the crossing into Italian waters for up to 30 days, in cases in which the migrant ship poses “serious threats to public order or national security,” as in the concrete risk of terrorist acts or terrorist infiltration, the bill says. The blockade is extendable up to a maximum of six months.
It would also be possible to stop the ships from entering Italian waters in the case of a drastic influx in migrants that could jeopardize the secure management of borders.
Those violating the rules would face fines of up to 50,000 euros ($59,400) and would see their boats confiscated in the case of repeated violations, a measure that seems to target humanitarian rescue ships.
In those cases, the intercepted migrants could be “transported to third countries other than their country of origin, with which Italy has entered into specific agreements,” the bill says.
Under those rules, the Meloni government aims at restarting offshore processing hubs similar to the two controversial ones created in Albania, which have been substantially inactive for about two years due to legal hurdles.
These centers — a major effort by the Meloni government to manage migration flows — have constantly sparked debates about their legality and efficacy, raising strong opposition from humanitarian groups.
The Italian bill’s approval comes after European lawmakers on Tuesday voted to approve new immigration policies that allow nations to deny asylum and deport migrants because they either hail from a country designated safe or could apply for asylum in a country outside the 27-nation bloc.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani hailed the new rules on Tuesday, saying the confirmation from the European Parliament on the list of safe countries “proves Italy right.”
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