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India-Bangladesh Border Braces for Super Cyclone

VOA News

   CycloneAmphanthreatens massivedevastationWednesday when it is to make
   landfall alongthe India-Bangladesh border as the regioncontinues
   tobattlethecoronavirus.

   Formed over the Bay of Bengal, thesuper cyclone is equivalent to a
   Category 5hurricane with wind speeds as high as257 kph (160mph)andgusts
   near321 kph (200 mph).

   The storm isexpected to weaken to a Category 1 or 2 before reaching
   land,butCycloneAmphanstill has potential to cause severe damageto
   thedensely populated and poverty-stricken regions with unstable
   infrastructure.

   The Bay of Bengal shores are prone to natural disasterssimilar
   toCycloneAmphan,yetnone of these bordering countries have had to
   combatacombination ofa global pandemic and an incoming violent storm.

   Odisha, one of the Indian states inAmphan'spath, has begun
   preparationsto evacuatethe 1.1 million individualswholivein
   high-riskareas. According toThe Guardian, 550 cyclone shelters have
   been readied,along with 7,000 concrete buildings set aside to shelter
   evacuees.

   The Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh also isanticipating heavy rains
   fromAmphan. Cox's Bazar ishome to the world's largest refugee
   camp,where Rohingya refugees escaped violence in Myanmar's Rakhine
   state.

   TheRohingya refugee camp, with a population of
   nearly1million,recentlyconfirmeditsfirst coronavirus case making
   therefugeeseven more vulnerableto the threatening storm.

   With the diagnosis, thecamp immediately isolated two refugees, deployed
   investigative teams,and increased prevention and testing methods.
   However, health experts have been cautioning camps about the
   possibility of a rapidly spreading virus formore thantwo years.

   "Our houses are already in bad shape and if heavy storm hit, we will be
   in despair with heavy rain and landslides," Aung Myaing, a grocery and
   general store owner inKutuplongCamp in Cox's Bazaar, toldVOA'sBurmese
   Service.

   LastThursday, the Philippines faced similar
   threatsasTyphoonVongfongmade landfall and forced thousands to evacuate
   despitethecoronavirus-induced lockdown.

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