INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
(108mph).The office predicted a storm surge of between two and two-and-a-half metres (six to eight feet) for the low-lying coastal region,
which on the Bangladeshi side is home to sprawling camps hosting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees
Most of them fled there after a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017.UN refugee agency spokesperson Olga Sarrado said preparations were
under way for a partial evacuation of the camp, if needed
The agency was also preparing tens of thousands of hot meals and jerrycans, she said.The World Health Organisation said it was
pre-positioning 33 mobile medical teams and 40 ambulances as well as emergency surgery and cholera kits for the camp.In Myanmar, the WHO was
pre-positioning 500,000 water purification tablets among other supplies which amount to the entire monsoon season stocks.A red flag on a
on Friday, with about a thousand preparing to shelter at one monastery in the town, AFP correspondents said.Some set down blankets and
staked out sleeping places while unpacking provisions.Thant Zaw, 42, said he had lost several family members when Cyclone Nargis ravaged
the Rakhine coast, according to state media, which did not say how many people had been moved
Any boats leaving shore in Rakhine from Friday afternoon would face legal action, the junta said.Heavy winds and rain could trigger flooding
and landslides farther inland in Myanmar and Bangladesh, the United Nations office for humanitarian affairs said on Friday.Around 6 million
evacuations, but officials said hundreds of cyclone shelters had been readied to house evacuated people.Bangladesh was last hit by a
worth billions of dollars.
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
