SINGAPORE – The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) is pledging $50,000 in humanitarian aid to support relief efforts by its Myanmar counterpart after Cyclone Mocha ripped through the country this week.
There are “many urgent humanitarian needs” and the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) has been preparing for an emergency response to aid affected communities, SRC said on Tuesday.
MRCS has activated its Emergency Operations Centre at the central, state and regional levels, and more than 700 volunteers have been mobilised. SRC added that MRCS has provided essential items such as food and drinking water, as well as assisted in evacuating more than 1.2 million individuals.
The Category 5 cyclone made landfall along the coast of Myanmar’s Rakhine state on Sunday afternoon, flattening villages in its wake. It unleashed winds of upwards of 210kmh and ripped roofs off homes, bringing a storm surge that inundated the state capital Sittwe.
One of the strongest cyclones to ever hit Myanmar, it has killed at least six people and injured more than 700, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. Rescuers on Monday evacuated about 1,000 people trapped by seawater more than 3m deep along western Myanmar’s coast. Some 29 Rohingya have been killed, according to some reports, with the final death toll still to be determined.
Non-governmental relief organisation Partners said on Twitter that there were many deaths and injuries. It cited a source, in one post, who said his camp was destroyed and that there may be more than 100 killed.
SRC plans to launch a separate public fund-raising appeal for recovery operations in Myanmar.
Mr Benjamin William, secretary-general and chief executive of SRC, said: “We are deeply concerned by the destruction in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha.
“Initial assessments suggest the damage is extensive, and needs will be high among the already vulnerable communities, including displaced persons in Rakhine.”
He added that SRC will be able to better assess the full magnitude of the disaster when telecommunication is restored.
“The SRC responders are on standby to be deployed to provide further relief assistance, as we continue to work closely with MRCS to support its humanitarian response,” he said.
