Cyclone Mocha death toll surpasses 140 in Myanmar

YANGON. KAZINFORM - The death toll from Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar has surpassed 140 as of Friday afternoon, the Information Team of Myanmar's State Administration Council (SAC) reported on Friday, Kazinform cites Xinhua.

On Thursday, 97 deaths were newly reported, including six local residents and 91 from the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, the information team said.

Cyclone Mocha damaged 183,024 houses, 1,711 religious buildings, 59 monasteries, 1,397 schools, 227 hospitals or clinics, 11 telecom towers, 119 lamp posts, two airports, and 340 departmental buildings, it said.

The regions and states battered by Mocha included Rakhine, Ayeyarwady, Bago, Yangon, Magway, Sagaing, Chin, Mandalay, Mon, Shan and Nay Pyi Taw Council Area, it said.

Local authorities were in cooperation with emergency response teams and local rescue teams in the cyclone-hit areas, after declarations of natural disaster-affected areas for 17 townships in Rakhine state and four townships in Chin state, it said.

Mocha made landfall near Sittwe in western Myanmar's Rakhine state on Sunday, with winds of up to 130 mph (about 209 kph), and raged across the country.