A powerful cyclone has hit the coastlines of Bangladesh and Myanmar after intensifying into the equivalent of a category-five storm.
Cyclone Mocha did not make landfall at the sprawling refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar as earlier feared, but still tore apart hundreds of makeshift shelters.
At least six people have been reported dead in Myanmar.
Up to 90 per cent of the western Rakhine state’s capital city Sittwe has been destroyed, residents told the BBC.
The Burmese military has declared the whole of Rakhine as a natural disaster area.
By late Sunday, the storm had largely passed. Bangladesh’s disaster official Kamrul Hasan said the cyclone caused “no major damage”, but landslides and floods are still hitting the country. No casualties have been reported in Bangladesh so far.
Myanmar appears to have borne more direct impact, with the storm crashing through houses and cutting power lines in Rakhine state. Myanmar’s meteorological department said it pounded through the country at about 209km/h (130 mph).
Camps for displaced Rohingya in the state have also been ripped apart.
Electricity and wireless connections were disrupted across much of Sittwe. Footage online showed roofs being blown off houses, telecom towers brought down, and billboards flying off buildings amid teeming rain across the region.
Authorities have declared Rakhine state a natural disaster area, while the Myanmar Red Cross Society said it was “preparing for a major emergency response”.
Hundreds of people crammed into a school which had been turned into a temporary cyclone shelter.
As many arrived at the shelter in rickshaws and on foot, they brought their livestock – cattle, chickens, goats – as well as mats to sleep on.
They had come from fishing and coastal villages up to two hours away, making a difficult choice.
In preparation for the storm’s arrival, nearby airports had been shut, fishermen were ordered to suspend their work and 1,500 shelters set up as people from vulnerable areas were moved to safer spots.
In 2008, Cyclone Nargis tore through the southern coastal regions of Myanmar, killing almost 140,000 people and severely affecting millions. Most of those who died were killed by a 3.5 metre wall of water that hit the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta.