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Cyclone Moka reportedly damaged many houses and uprooted trees on the island of St. Martin. News from BBC Bengal

Aziz, a resident of St. Martin Island, told BBC Bangla on Sunday afternoon that the entire island is in dire straits. Light houses made of tin and bamboo were blown away. Tin, wood, bamboo are scattered. Coconut trees, different types of trees are uprooted in places.

He said that most of the hotels and restaurants near the jetty have collapsed.

He also said that most of the people on the island are still in shelters.

Taqi Usmani, a resident of St. Martin, said, ‘We are on the 3rd floor of the shelter set up at St. Martin’s Hospital. There are about 1 thousand 300 people in this shelter. A few people did not make it to the shelters. I got news that 3 of them died after the tree fell, although I couldn’t be sure. There is nowhere to go before the storm stops. If the storm stops then it can be confirmed.’

Strong winds are blowing in Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf and Saint Martin due to Moka’s influence. At 2:30 a.m., wind gusts of up to 147 km/h were reported on St. Martin, the Bureau of Meteorology said. Due to the effect of Moka, Teknaf also experienced heavy rains.

According to the notification, the direction leaving the coast has weakened slightly towards the north and northeast. The center of the cyclone crossed the coast of Cox’s Bazar and north-Myanmar, passing near Situ, Myanmar at 3:00 pm today and over the land of Myanmar. The full cyclone is likely to leave the coast by this evening and gradually weaken.

Cox’s Bazar seaport has been asked to display the 10th major distress signal. According to the Meteorological Office, the islands and chars near this district will be under the danger signal number 10.