While the full extent of Cyclone Mocha’s damage is still being assessed, initial reports indicate that it was the worst natural disaster to hit Myanmar since Cyclone Nargis in 2008. The UN reported that nearly 3.2 million people were likely to have humanitarian needs as a result of the storm, which in addition to Rakhine state, severely damaged homes, infrastructure and farms in parts of Chin state, Magway and Sagaing regions.
Many people in the affected regions live in areas with an active presence of armed groups who are opposed to the military, which seized power in a February 2021 coup and has since blocked humanitarian aid to areas harbouring armed resistance, according to numerous human rights and media reports.
Even in places controlled by the military administration, including Sittwe, relief access remains uncertain. As of Thursday, humanitarian responders, including UN agencies and international aid groups, were still waiting for the military’s permission for them to go into six townships identified as the worst affected in Rakhine state or to begin distributing emergency supplies.
In a message sent to Al Jazeera on Thursday morning, a Myanmar-based staff member of an international organisation, speaking on the condition of anonymity for the protection of their organisation and office’s access, expressed concern that the military was “delaying first line humanitarian assistance until it felt it could organise and portray itself as a competent and authoritative first responder” as it did back in 2008.