Myanmar and Bangladesh Cyclone

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What was the impact for refugees in Bangladesh?

Approximately one million Rohingya live in Cox's Bazar, the largest refugee camp in the world.

Bangladesh’s government evacuated people ahead of the storm, but Rohingya refugees were not allowed to leave the camps or build permanent structures. This means that refugees had few places to take shelter from the storm.

More than 1,300 shelters in Cox’s Bazar were reported as destroyed or damaged, as well as 16 mosques and learning centres.

Before the cyclone, food rations for Rohingya people in Cox’s Bazar were reduced due to funding cuts, and 16,000 refugees lost their homes in a devastating fire in March 2023.

What was the impact for displaced communities in Myanmar?

Before the cyclone, at least 6 million people were in need of humanitarian support in Myanmar. Around 1.2 million were displaced across Rakhine state and the northwest of Myanmar (OCHA). 

People in Rakhine have suffered years of conflict and displacement, with hundreds of thousands of people confined to temporary camps where their movements are restricted.

When was the worst cyclone in Myanmar?

In 2008, Cyclone Nargis made landfall in Myanmar, killing a devastating 84,500 people. Another 53,800 people went missing. 

The UN estimates that as many as 2.4 million people were affected by Cyclone Nargis, and caused around $12 billion in damage, making t one of the costliest and deadliest cyclones in the region.