Bu Ma: Local authorities in Myanmar's Rakhine state reported that at least 41 people had died in the cyclone-affected villages as of Tuesday. Mocha, which was carrying winds of up to 195 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour), made landfall on Sunday, bringing down power pylons and splintering wooden fishing boats.
Karlo, the village administrator of Bu Ma, which is close to the state capital Sittwe, confirmed there had been 17 fatalities to an AFP reporter there. Given that over a hundred people are still unaccounted for, there will be more deaths.” The minority Muslim Rohingya people live in the village despite persecution.
The 24 fatalities reported to AFP by a Rohingya village leader in the nearby village of Khaung Doke Kar were in addition to the Bu Ma number. That leader asked for anonymity out of concern for the junta's retaliation.
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On Monday, the junta announced that five people had died, but it did not say where they had died. It was unclear if any of the people killed in Bu Ma and Khaung Doke Kar were counted in the junta's death toll.
A junta spokesman has been contacted by AFP for comment on the latest death toll. Residents of Bu Ma walked the seashore on Tuesday morning in search of loved ones who had been swept away by the storm surge that was accompanying the cyclone, according to AFP correspondents.
The Rohingya, who are widely perceived as outsiders in Myanmar, are denied citizenship and access to healthcare, and they need permission to leave their villages in western Rakhine state. Others who were displaced by the state's long-running ethnic conflict now reside in camps.
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The UNHCR stated that it was looking into claims that Rohingya living in displaced persons camps had died in the storm. In a statement, the UNHCR said that it was "saddened" to learn of deaths at displacement camps in Rakhine State following Cyclone Mocha.
In order to obtain a clearer picture of the situation, it continued, it was "trying to conduct detailed assessments at displacement camps and sites." According to AFP reporters, communication with Sittwe, which has a population of about 150,000, was gradually being restored on Tuesday as roads were being cleared and Internet connections were being restored.
On Monday, footage from the state media showed soldiers at the Sittwe airport unloading supplies from aircraft. However, Rohingya villagers claimed that they had not yet received any aid.
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Kyaw Swar Win, 38, of the Bu Ma village claimed that "neither the government nor any organisation has visited our village." Our last meal was two days ago. All I can say is that nobody has even come to ask because we have nothing.